Danganpoke
by ANineTailedFox
Summary: 16 Ultimate Pokemon locked in an enclosed school, where the only way out is to MURDER! Who will live, and who will die?
1. Characters

_**Upupupupupupu~!**_

 _ **The funs only just beginning~!**_

 _ **Thrills!**_

 _ **Chills!**_

 _ **KILLS~!**_

* * *

 _Hello everyone! My name is Kenny, me and my friend and writing partner (and main owner of this account) Liz are bringing to you all a Danganropa fanfic! Only, of course, it's Danganpoke~! 16 Ultimate Pokemon locked in an enclosed school, where the only way out is to MURDER! Who will live, and who will die?!_

 _ **UNFORTUNATELY, SIGN UPS ARE CLOSED, AS WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL 16 STUDENTS!**_

 _ **Here, take a peak at our cast:**_

 _MALES-_

Archimedes Svelt - Gliscor [Ahawtdawg]

Aster - Alolan Vulpix [TrickyFennekin]

Glenn - Chespin [Cyan the Glaceon]

Jon - Grovyle

Lucas - Lucario

Salvador - Jangmo-o [HomelessHyena]

Timaeus - Hydreigon [MagnemiteGeek]

Zachery - Zorua

 _FEMALES-_

Ishtar - Arcanine [TrickyFennekin]

Kanaya Wells - Gardevoir [Wiltarrow]

Libby - Sylveon

Lilliana - Espeon

Poppy - Brioone [Nihilego Fanatic]

Rosalie - Roserade [robertrnnelson on Twitter]

Ruby - Scrafty [BaconBaka]

Tana - Shinx

 _UTLIMATE ABILITIES-_

Ultimate Author

Ultimate Basketball Star

Ultimate Battler

Ultimate Botanist

Ultimate Child Caregiver

Ultimate Conspiracist

Ultimate Graffiti Artist

Ultimate Lucky Student

Ultimate Musician

Ultimate Poker Player

Ultimate Police Officer

Ultimate Popularity Magnet

Ultimate Prankster

Ultimate Prince

Ultimate Shipper

Ultimate Stealth Expert

 _Who do you think has what ultimate talent? You can find out soon when our first chapter comes out!_

 _\- Kenny & Liz_


	2. Prologue

**DANGANPOKE**

 **PROLOGUE**

* * *

 _Hopes Peak Academy_

 _The large, absolutely gorgeous school towered over any and all other buildings throughout the large city. It was easily one of the largest schools in the country!_

 _It wasn't just for any normal student though, Hopes Peak Academy is for the best of the best! Many students around the world have high hopes for getting in, but the truth is, only the absolute best in any field tend to be accepted! In many cases, those are known as Ultimates!_

 _Being an ultimate is one of the only requirements to be accepted into this school, although students must also already be attending high school or college too._

 _Thankfully, I apply to both of these fields, and was accepted relatively quickly._

 _My name is Lilliana, 18-year-old high school graduate, and I am the Ultimate Musician!_

 ** _LILLIANA - ESPEON - ULTIMATE MUSICIAN_**

 ** _SHE'S WON TROPHIES ALL AROUND THE WORLD FOR HER ABILITIES IN PLAYING ALMOST ALL INSTRUMENTS, AND HAS COMPOSED THREE ALBUMS NOW THAT HAVE GONE PLATINUM, ALL WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC._**

The Espeon stood before the large, opened gates of the school, only inches from officially being on campus. She had a small clip hooked to one of her ears, a purple music note.

 _I'm here because I am the absolute best musician out there! Even without opposable thumbs like some other Pokemon have, I'm still able to play most any instrument with my psychic abilities. I strive in all of my performances, and I've proven to most anyone out there that I am the best of the best!_

 _I have not only proven myself musically but also, academically. I wasn't one of the smartest in my class, but I could stand tall with the others smarties. Straight A's, maybe the occasional B, though it all goes to show that I'm devoted to school just as much as I am to music. So yeah, I'm very excited to get things started!_

 _I have put some research into other students who are also coming in this year too, and I was astonished at some of the diversity being presented. Everything from the Ultimate Prankster to the Ultimate Police Officer, the Ultimate Author to the Ultimate Popularity Magnet, and of course, the common ritual of the lucky draw, the Ultimate Lucky Student._

 _Arceus only knows how many times I tried to get in through luck before I had improved myself enough in the musical field to be considered the best._

"Regardless," Lilliana spoke up, a smile on her face, "I'm finally in, and it's time to start this new school year with a bang!"

Lilliana stepped into the schools campus relatively quickly, padding her way along a large brick path, surrounded by some grassy, flowery foliage. The scent that was emitted from the school was sweet and calming, and Lilliana was left feeling calm as she made her way to the main building of the school, knowing from her acceptance letter that orientation would be held at the auditorium. The school looked almost completely abandoned at the moment, so Lilliana assumed that she was probably running a little bit late, and everyone else was likely already gathered in the auditorium.

Pushing the door open, the Espeon stepped into the large main building, her smile only growing as she further admired the halls of the large school around her.

This was it, Hopes Peak Academy. The school that, for its graduates, guaranteed the ultimate hope for the future!

What ended up actually happening... Was something that Lilliana would never have expected...

As Lilliana had stepped into a small open area, with a confusing divide of three hallways that scrambled with her mind a bit on where she had to go, she noticed a map and made her way straight to that.

She was so focused on the map that she took absolutely no notice to the sudden presence of another mon in the building, and even if she had noticed it, she likely would have paid it no mind, since this was an open school. This lack of knowledge would be Lilliana's current downfall as, without any warning whatsoever, a paw swung around her head, holding a rag that was doused in chloroform!

This rag was shoved right up against Lilliana's nose and mouth, her eyes going wide! She quickly started to struggle, but this other mon gripped her body tightly, not allowing the struggles to result in Lilliana's escape. As the now panicked Lilliana continued to squirm, knowing she couldn't call out to anyone successfully, she was forced to breathe in the fumes. She couldn't even use her psychic to combat the mon, as the stranger had covered her forehead gem. She couldn't do anything about this.

Slowly but surely, Lilliana went unconscious from the chloroform, going limp in the strangers grasp, and now, at his or her will...

All she could do now was wait to wake up... And even when she did, she would likely be weakened from all of the chloroform she had inhaled...

This was only the beginning... Of despair...

* * *

Lilliana slowly starts to wake up, letting off a small groan, eyes slowly opening up, and looking around confused, "Where the hell... Am I...?"

The Espeon was currently sat at a desk in one of the many classrooms in the school. Only, this classroom seemed very bland for what was supposed to be a school bustling with life. The walls were plain, covered in red. Additionally, the desk Lilliana sat at was the only desk in the room. The chalkboard at the front of the room was also relatively blank, aside from a few markings that looked much more like scratch marks rather than chalk marks.

There were two windows on one wall in the classroom, but they were completely blocked off by large metal sheets. Lilliana slowly pushes up to a stand, further looking around the room, "This room... I don't recognize this classroom at all..." She padded up toward one of the sealed shut windows, reaching a paw up and resting her paw on it. The metal was cold to the touch, "Why are these here...?"

It was as if a sudden feeling of despair rushed throughout her body, remembering what had just happened before she ended up in this room. Her eyes went wide in a sudden terror, and the first thing she did was turn and scale the walls with her eyes, looking for the door. She found it pretty quickly, and broke out into an intense rush, breathing heavy. She was under the impression she had been kidnapped, panic rushing through her body as she rammed her body into the doorway.

The door almost immediately gave way and opened up, as if it hadn't even been locked. Lilliana watched though as the door seemed to slam into something, and she heard a low growl of pain after... "What the fuck?!" Another female's voice shouted out loud, Lilliana gasping at the sudden sounds and starting to back up, the expression on her face only more panicked than before...

She watched as an orange paw reached around the door and quickly yanked it back the rest of the way, the form of a large Arcanine blocking off the doorway and sending a glare toward the panicked Espeon. She had a blue ankle-band around one of her legs, "What in the hell is your problem?! That was completely uncalled for!"

The furious voice of the Arcanine sent trembles through Lilliana's body, who continued to back up, "I-I'm sorry! I-I was scared a-and panicked, I-I didn't know y-you were there!"

The unknown Arcanine huffs out, taking another step closer, to which Lilliana took a step back in response, "Stop backing up! I need to ask some questions!"

Lilliana, even though she was still oh so very scared, decided it was probably best to listen to the mon who could take her out relatively easily. She slowly nodded her head, though her trembles continued.

"First things first, who are you?!" The unknown female kept up her loud and aggressive voice, with the intent to keep Lilliana afraid and on edge.

"I-I-I'm L-Lilliana, U-Ultimate Musician..."

"Hmm..." The Arcanine's glare gets a little harsher as if she's thinking that answer over, as if she doesn't trust that answer... "What do you know about all of us being here?!"

"I-I don't kn-know a-anything! A-All of us?"

"So, you don't know do you?" The Arcanine's glare settles back a bit, and she lets out an annoyed huff, "... I'm Ishtar. Ultimate Police Officer. You're coming with me to the auditorium to meet with everyone else."

 _ **ISHTAR - ARCANINE - ULTIMATE POLICE OFFICER**_

 _ **A PRODIGY, SHE'S KNOWN FOR HER SKILLS ON THE FIELD. SHE HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST RESPONSE RATES ON THE FORCE AND IS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST POKEMON TO GRADUATE FROM THE POLICE ACADEMY, AS SHE GRADUATED THE ACADEMY AT THE AGE OF 14. SHE HAS DEVOTED HER LIFE; ESPECIALLY THE PAST 8 YEARS SHE HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN IN THE FORCE; TO BEING ONE OF THE GREATEST OFFICERS OF THE LAW.**_

Without another word, Ishtar would turn around, stepping back out of the classroom. She was quick to look back into the class though, seeing Lilliana still remaining in the same place, "What are you doing?"

"I-I uh... I-I have a quick question..."

"Well don't just hold it in," Ishtar rolled her eyes, "Spit it out already."

"U-Uh... W-Why are those m-metal sheets on the w-walls...?"

Ishtar sighs, "They're covering the windows. We've tried to pull them off but we can't manage. Now hurry up, follow me dammit!"

Lilliana nods, still a bit scared of the large Arcanine, as she follows the ultimate police officer, out of the classroom and through the hallways. Throughout the walk, Lilliana couldn't help but look at the walls of the hallways. These, for the most part, were also a bit bland, with a darkened purple color to them rather than red. Speaking of dark, it was pretty dark in this school.

This made Lilliana simply assume it was night time, but as they passed by a clock, she noticed...

 _It's... 4 PM...? But, that's mid-afternoon... Why is it so dark in here...? The atmosphere is... Really creepy... I'd ask Ishtar but, I'm pretty sure now all of this isn't her doing... She's a bit harsh but, she is taking me to "everyone else"... But... Who else is here...?_

 _Were they brought here against their will like me...?_

 _... Who was that mon... That knocked me out...?_

 _What... What happened...?_

Lilliana was so stuck in her mind, she didn't notice when Ishtar had opened up a door and stepped inside, actually walking into the door! She yelps at the sudden maneuver, taking a step back and shaking her head, examining what she had just run into. Though something also caught her eye...

Above the door, she noticed a yellow monitor... It looked kind of like a tv screen, but there was a symbol on its side... It was an animated looking bear head, with two sides. One side was white, with a black eye. The other side was black, with a red eye that looked more like a scar than an eye. Additionally, he had a white snout with a little black nose. The white side of his face had an open mouth, and the black side had a devious looking toothy grin.

The logo was quite unsettling, and Lilliana was transfixed on it for just a few moments, before finally turning her attention toward the open door, and slowly stepping inside.

Past the door was what looked to be an auditorium, many rows of dark red seats with three aisles between them, two on either side of the auditorium and one in the middle. There was also a large stage, with a table on top, that had a red tarp over it. Though that wasn't what caught Lilliana's attention.

What did catch the ultimate musician's attention was the large amount of pokemon spread throughout the auditorium! Not counting herself and Ishtar, there were fourteen others... Meaning so far a total of sixteen pokemon were known about being in the school... So many pokemon... Why were there so many pokemon here...? The amount of pokemon here easily made up the size of a medium-sized class...

 _I should talk to these other pokemon... See if they may know anything about what's going on..._

The first pokemon that caught Lilliana's interest was an Alolan Vulpix. He was sitting down in one of the auditorium seats, curiously looking around at the scene before him, almost as if the sight was foreign to him.

The Espeon approached the also rather young looking one, taking a seat down next to him, on the aisleway, "Hey..." Lilliana started, watching as the attention of the ice-pix was caught, turning his head toward her, "So, do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"Hello, sorry to say I don't know either. To save you some time, none of us here know."

"Oh, so you spoke to everyone else?"

"No."

Lilliana just sorta blinked in response, "Then er, how do you know?"

"I overheard them when they spoke to Miss Ishtar."

Lilliana would give a slow nod in response, "Alright then, well, who are you?"

"My name is Aster, the Ultimate Prince."

 _ **ASTER - ALOLAN VULPIX - ULTIMATE PRINCE**_

 _ **ASTER'S EXISTENCE IS ALMOST SECRETIVE OUTSIDE OF HIS KINGDOM, SON TO THE QUEEN OF A LARGE AND LOVELY ICE KINGDOM IN THE TALL MOUNTAINS. HE HOLDS IMPECCABLE MANNERS AND WILL TRULY BE AN AMAZING RULER ONCE HIS TIME COMES, SHOWING GREAT PROMISE.**_

"It is a pleasure to meet you," He outstretched a paw, Lilliana lifting her own up as well and grasping it, as they shook paws.

"Well, my name is Lilliana, and I'm the Ultimate Musician."

"Lovely, perhaps I may have some time to listen to your skills in the art of music in the near future!"

 _He's talking so formal, I almost feel like a redneck in comparison with how I speak..._

"You can er, turn down your elegant speaking if you want Aster-"

"Prince Aster," He interrupted. There goes his streak of politeness, "Apologies, but that's what my butler said everyone under me must call me."

"... So, according to you, I'm under you?"

"Well, anyone of whom is not a royal leader or close to being one is under me."

"I'm assuming your butler told you that as well..."

"Indeed."

Lilliana gave off a low grumble. That conversation quickly turned annoying... "Alright, well, I'm gonna go now... Meet some of the others, ya know."

As she stood, she heard Aster speak out one more time, "I recommend speaking with the Zorua, he seems rather interesting to communicate with."

"... Sure."

 _At least it's a recommendation Lil... Don't have to wonder who to talk to if you already have a recommendation from someone._

It didn't take long for Lilliana to scope out the Zorua, who was also sat down a bit further ahead. He seemed to already be in a conversation too, with a Roserade. She hesitated for a split second on thinking whether she'd be a bother to the conversation or not, but that thought was just as quickly ejected from her mind. She padded a bit further down the aisleway, and sat down in a seat right beside the Zorua. The mon was just finishing a sentence when the Roserade beside him spoke up, "Heheh, seems we have some company!"

The Zorua couldn't help but tilt his head as he turned to look beside him, spotting the Espeon, "Oh, hello," He smiled some, "So Ishtar found another mon then, huh?"

"Hello hello, yes she did. My names Lilliana, I'm the Ultimate Musician."

He nodded back, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Zachary, the Ultimate Author."

 _ **ZACHARY - ZORUA - ULTIMATE AUTHOR**_

 ** _HIS AMAZING PRACTICES IN WRITING NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE. HE'S BEEN AN INFLUENTIAL AND POWERFUL WRITER ALMOST HIS ENTIRE LIFE. IT STARTED WITH HIS FIRST BOOK, A CHILDREN'S BOOK RELEASED WHEN HE WAS FIVE, WHICH WAS THE FIRST OF MANY BEST SELLERS. EVER SINCE THEN HE'S BEEN WRITING BEST SELLER AFTER BEST SELLER, AND NOWADAYS, HE CAN WRITE A BEST SELLING BOOK IF GIVEN FOOD, WATER, AND SILENCE, OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEK OR TWO._**

"And I'm a fan of some of his works! Though I am also the Ultimate Botanist, Rosalie~" The Roserade had spoken up immediately after.

 _ **ROSALIE - ROSERADE - ULTIMATE BOTANIST**_

 _ **SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVES BEING SURROUNDED BY FLOWERS. SHE'S BEEN INTERESTED IN THEM MOST ALL OF HER LIFE, SO INTERESTED THAT SHE STUDIED THEM, THEIR INNER BIOLOGY AND THEIR APPEARENCES. SHE CAN IDENTIFY ANY FLOWER KNOWN TO MON-KIND, AS WELL AS GIVE A BASIC EXPLANATION OF HOW EACH PARTICULAR FLOWER OPERATES ON THE INSIDE.**_

"Oh, that's pretty interesting!" Lilliana smiled, nodding her head a bit, "So, er, do you guys have any idea what's going on here?"

"Nope." - Rosalie

"Not at all." - Zachary

"Damn... I'm hoping that we get some answers soon. This is just all confusing and I'm kinda scared..."

"I'm sure there is a perfect reasoning for all of this, I don't think anything bad will happen to us!" Rosalie responded with a calm smile, "Now, it may be a good idea to make the others acquaintance, try and find out everything you can about everyone~!"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, there are still some mons I have to talk to as well. So for now, we all should split," Zachary spoke up next, climbing out of his seat and dropping onto his four paws on the ground. Lilliana nodded as Zachary padded away, stepping down herself and leaving Rosalie on her own.

Lilliana scanned through the auditorium once again, and the next pokemon that caught her eye was actually a Gliscor. He was standing atop the open door of the auditorium, it was a wonder that Lilliana hadn't noticed him when she first entered... Lilliana padded her way up the aisle and looked up at the Gliscor from below, who looked to be observing everything.

"Er, hello. Why are you up there?" Lilliana asked, head tilted a bit.

 _Let's hope this guy isn't some wacko..._

"Shh... I'm concentrating..."

...

"Concentrating on what?"

The Gliscor let out a slightly annoyed grumble, looking down at the Espeon, "I'm trying to find out who's behind all of this! Who has us all trapped in this school!"

"W-We're trapped?!" That actually seemed to catch Lilliana off guard, "I-I mean, I know the windows are sealed shut and all, but, there has to be some exits, right?!"

"No fire exits from what I've seen, and the front entrance is blocked off by a high security door. There's a password lock but we can't just guess willy nilly, or else we'd be filled with led!"

"Led?!"

"Have you not seen all the guns around?"

Lilliana's eyes were wide, and that thought made her quickly start looking around. That's when she saw what this Gliscor had been talking about, three large mini-guns mounted to the ceilings, with what looked like cameras on them. They seemed automated and ready to shoot at any given moment. Lilliana's heart sunk and she gulped fearfully...

"... I..."

"I'm trying to find out which huge corporation could've trapped us in here, this has to be some shitty corporate thing, shady dealings done right under our damned noses!"

"Err..."

 _Okay... So he is some wacko..._

"What if it isn't just one corporation...?" Lilliana decided to feed into these superstitions, "What if it's multiple companies...?"

"Hmm..." The mon would consider it for just a moment... "That could be possible! What I've observed looks familiar to many different companies! Maybe even our entire government!"

The Gliscor would leap off the door, landing on his feet on the floor right in front of Lilliana, looking right to her, "You seem to be very useful! Tell me, what is your name?"

"Er... I'm Lilliana..." She seemed a bit reluctant to speak, "The Ultimate Musician..."

"Ah yes, it's good to meet you!" He would reach out one of his large claws and pat the top of Lillianas head, grinning a bit, "I am Archimedes Svelt, and I am!" He paused for a moment, taking an intense stance of pride and power, "The Ultimate Conspiracist!"

 _ **ARCHIMEDES SVELT - GLISCOR - ULTIMATE CONSPIRACIST**_

 _ **HES SPENT HIS ENTIRE LIFE DEVOTED TO STUDYING DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND CORRUPT GOVERNMENTS, DEVOTED TO FINDING THE DEEP DARK AND DEADLY TRUTH OF ANY BIG CORPORATION AND EXPOSING THAT TRUTH TO THE FULLEST! HE HAS TAKEN DOWN FIVE COMPANIES ALONE BY FIGURING THROUGH THEIR DANGEROUS CONSPIRACIES AND PROVING THEM AS FACT, SHOWING THE EVIDENCE OFF FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE!**_

"I had a bit of a feeling..." Lilliana took one slow step back, "Heh, well, I'm gonna go talk to someone else now..."

"Do not stray too far Lilliana, I will take you under my wing and aid you in discovering the truth of our terrors!"

 _Right..._

Lilliana mumbled under her breath as she turned around and stepped away from Archimedes, left now with a weird feeling of even more uncertainty and fear... Though she tried to swallow it down, so she could get through the remainder of the introductions.

The next mon she noticed was leaning against the stage, a Hydreigon, also seemingly observing the other pokemon around, like many others in the group seemed to be doing. Seeing as Lilliana assumed he didn't have anything better to do at that moment, she would pad down the aisleway and up to the Hydreigon, sitting down in front of him.

She didn't even have to start the conversation this time, as this Hydreigon seemed to get right into it, "Another fresh face, huh? Hey, I'm Timaeus."

He already seemed to be a much more welcomed presence than Archimedes before him, which allowed for Lilliana to chill out a bit too, even smiling some, "I'm Lilliana, the Ultimate Musician. What's your ultimate talent?"

"I don't have one."

Lilliana went silent for a second. That was... Strange. It seemed like most of the others had in common the fact that they were ultimates, possessing talents of which they are the best of. But... This guy doesn't?

Suddenly, the large Hydreigon releases a little laughter, "Hah, you should've seen the look on your face!" Hmm... A bit of goofball came out of the larger mon, "Heh, no no I was just messing with you, I'm the Ultimate Prankster."

 _ **TIMAEUS - HYDREIGON - ULTIMATE PRANKSTER**_

 _ **TIMAEUS IS A MASTER PRANKSTER, LEADING EVEN A GROUP OF PRANKSTERS KNOWN TO CAUSE MAYHEM ALL OVER THE WORLD! THOUGH TIMAEUS IS ALSO KNOWN TO STAND STRICTLY BY THE BELIEF THAT NO COMMITTED PRANKS IN HIS GROUP SHOULD CONTAIN CRIMINAL ACTS!**_

"Oh, Ultimate Prankster, huh? Is this where you tell me this whole thing happening right now is all just a big prank?" Lilliana knew that that was surely false, but... Even for that small thing, she held a little bit of hope that it may be true.

"Hah, wish I could, but I really can't. If this were a prank I would've needed to kidnap you all, which is against the law. This is about as real as it gets," He shrugs, "But you can hide behind me if you're too scared."

"Er... I may take you up on that offer," She responded with a small, awkward chuckle.

Lilliana and Timaeus's conversation sorta went into moreso silence. It was kind of awkward, and the silence would've continued if not for two pokemon suddenly slipping into it, two males, a Chespin and a Grovyle.

"So hey, what are you two talking about?" The Grovyle is the first to speak up, a bit loudly as well, smiling.

"You seem a bit excited for the situation we find ourselves in," Lilliana responds first, tilting her head, "Why?"

"Oh, hah, well if you face all fears with a positive attitude, you get less scared!" He responds, chuckling a bit.

"And I've been hearing the brunt of that explanation for the past ten minutes," The Chespin responds with a low sigh, "What can ya do, I guess?"

"So, who are you guys? I'm Lilliana, the Ultimate Musician."

"And I'm Timaeus, I have no ultimate talent."

"Prankster..." Lilliana sighs, "He's the Ultimate Prankster."

"Well," The Grovyle's smile grows, "It's nice to meet the both of you! I'm Jon, and I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student!"

 _ **JON - GROVYLE - ULTIMATE LUCKY STUDENT**_

 _ **HE WAS THE ONE POKEMON, OUT OF A FEW HUNDRED THOUSAND, TO BE SELECTED BY RANDOM DRAW TO JOIN HOPES PEAK ACADEMY THIS SCHOOL YEAR! HE HAS A PAST THAT IS FILLED WITH INCREDIBLE LUCK, FOR EXAMPLE, IN HIS 19 YEARS OF LIFE, EVERY SINGLE LOTTERY TICKET HE HAS PRAYED FOR VICTORY ON WAS GRANTED THE JACKPOT WIN!**_

"And I'm Glenn, Ultimate Stealth Expert."

 _ **GLENN - CHESPIN - ULTIMATE STEALTH EXPERT**_

 _ **WITH YEARS OF TRAINING IN THE ART OF HIDING BEHIND HIS BELT, WHAT WAS ALMOST AN OBSESSION WITH THE TRAINING THROUGHOUT MOST OF HIS LIFE, GLENN HAS ACED THE PERFECTION OF STEALTH BASED OFFENSE AND DEFENSE IN A FIGHTING STYLE!**_

"Oh, well I'm glad you weren't hiding from us!" Lilliana chuckled a bit, "It's nice to meet you both!"

"Nice to meet you too!" Jon chimed first, smile brightening!

Whilst Glenn shrugged, "I actually was hiding from you guys. Jon over here somehow found me."

"Ohh right I promised I'd tell you how!" Jon turned to Glenn, chuckling a bit, "Well, after being alone for a bit, I simply prayed that I would find someone to talk to! And since you were the only one I could technically find, my luck shined me straight in your direction!"

The Chespin gave a small nod, "So if you hadn't wished for it, it would never have happened?"

"Correct!"

Lilliana observed the conversation as it continued a few more minutes, smiling a bit, "Heheh, well, I should definitely get going. I gotta meet everyone else."

"Good luck with that," Timaeus wishes, and after having been silent so long, the sudden speaking actually caught Lilliana off guard, jumping a bit.

Though she turned to him and nodded, "Thanks."

And with that, Lilliana turned and walked off from the other three mons, looking around once more for other new pokemon to speak to. Her eyes caught up then on what seemed like a bit of a larger group of pokemon, four all together. A Shinx, a Gardevoir, a Scrafty, and a Brioone. Quite the mix of mons all together... It definitely peaked her curiosity, enough to pad straight over. She almost felt obligated to walk up to the group of four too, which was weird.

The four mons were chatting amongst themselves when Lilliana padded over, giving off a small smile as she sat down near the four, "Er, hi," She tried to call out, but nobody answered...

 _Weird..._

"Hello? What are you guys talking about?" Lilliana spoke out again, still being treated to no answer.

 _They eh... Definitely seem to be enjoying talking to one another..._

Lilliana had to reach out and tap on the body of the nearest one, the Brioone. That Brioone would turn around and shoot Lilliana a large smile, "Hello!" She called out, giggling!

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Lilliana asked once more with a tilted head.

"Oh, just about random stuff, enjoying each others company~"

"Ah, that sounds kinda nice. You aren't concerned at all?" Lilliana asks once more, some of the other pokemon in the group of four turning heads to watch the continued conversation.

"Well, what's the worse that can happen? It's probably just some big prank if anything~!" The Brioone chuckled.

"Yeah, we came to that conclusion a little while ago so it's helped calm us," The Gardevoir in the group speaks up, smiling, "You seem familiar..."

"Ah, yeah I get that sometimes," Lilliana nods with a smile, "I'm Lilliana, the Ultimate Musician. You've probably heard some of my music."

"Ahh yes, some of the younger ones I used to take care of were addicted to some of your music, now that I remember. It was always in their minds, like an annoying tune stuck deep in there, but those songs weren't too bothersome to hear," She outstretches one of her arms, "I'm Kanaya Wells, Ultimate Child Caregiver. You can call me Kanaya if you'd like."

 _ **KANAYA WELLS - GARDEVOIR - ULTIMATE CHILD CAREGIVER**_

 ** _THE BEST IN THE CAREGIVING BUSINESS, GIVE HER A DAY WITH A SPOILED KID AND THEY'LL DEMONSTRATE PROPER MANNERS FOR MONTHS! SHE'S KNOWN FOR HER AMAZING REPUTATION AS THE GREATEST CHILD CAREGIVER! HER TENDENCIES IN CAREGIVING ARE MORE MOTHERLY THAN MOST OTHERS IN THE BUSINESS ARE KNOWN FOR, DEMONSTRATING AN AURA OF LOVE THAT CAN FILL ANY CHILDRENS HEART AND SOUL WITH PASSION AND DETERMINATION, LOVE AND HOPE!_**

"Interesting talent," Lilliana nods with a smile, looking to the Brioone, "And you are?"

"Heh, my name is Brioone! I'm the Ultimate Shipper!"

 ** _POPPY - BRIOONE - ULTIMATE SHIPPER_**

 ** _SHE PUTS MOST OF HER TIME DEVOTED TO HER TALENT OF SHIPPING CLOSE FRIENDS AND OTHER POKEMON TOGETHER! SHE PUTS HOURS OF RESEARCH BETWEEN MANY POKEMON TO DETERMINE THE BEST SHIPS, AND HAS A 99.9% SUCCESS RATE IN PAIRING UP HAPPY COUPLES!_**

"Ah, so you really like boats?" Lilliana tilted her head once more, a bit confused at that.

That question makes Poppy grumble just a tiny bit, shaking her head, "No, I ship people together! Heheh, I make couples!"

"Ohhhhh, that makes a bit more sense. Shipper did seem like a weird way to describe someone who likes boats..."

"I thought the same thing," Another pokemon speaks up from the group, the Scrafty. Her hood was over most of her face so she was barely seen, "Then again, you can never really know with all the idiots out there."

"Er..." Lilliana seemed a bit apprehensive, "Riiiiight. So uh, who are you?"

"I'm Ruby, Ultimate Graffiti Artist."

 _ **RUBY - SCRAFTY - ULTIMATE GRAFFITI ARTIST**_

 _ **WITH EXTREME PERCISION IN HER TAGGING, SHE'S BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE SOME OF THE BEST ILLEGAL ART AROUND! SHE'S TAGGED SPOTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD IN A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ART! THERE'S A RUMOR THAT ONE OF HER TAGS EVEN STARTED A REBELLION IN A SMALL COUNTRY, OF WHICH THE WAR IS STILL BEING WAGED TO THIS DAY!**_

"Oh, that's quite the talent. So another artist like me, huh?" Lilliana chuckled, "Only, your art is seen and my art is heard!"

"... Sure," Ruby says, going silent once more afterward, even turning away.

Lilliana just blinks, looking back to Kanaya, "So, who's the Shinx?"

"WHO AM I?!"

The voice of the Shinx suddenly called out, practically in anger, "Did you just ask who I am?!" She asks the same question, stepping past Poppy and glaring up at Lilliana, "Listen bitch, I'm Tana, Ultimate Popularity Magnet, and the fact that you don't know me means you're just useless!"

 ** _TANA - SHINX - ULTIMATE POPULARITY MAGNET_**

 ** _SHE'S POPULAR FOR REASONS UNKNOWN! SHE JUST SEEMS TO HAVE THAT AURA AND PRESENCE AROUND HER, EASILY ABLE TO MAKE ANY AND ALL FRIENDS AND BECOMING A MARK OF POPULARITY! SHE'S ALSO THE POKEMON WITH THE MOST POPULARITY KNOWN TO MONKIND, AS HER STILL GROWING AMOUNT OF FOLLOWERS ON MANY DIFFERENT WEBSITES FAR SURPASSES HIGH RANKING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND EVEN CELEBRITIES! SHE EVEN HAS A REALITY SHOW BASED ON HER LIFE, WITH FIVE SEASONS AND COUNTING!_**

"So go, get the hell out of my face! I'm hanging out with my fans, the ones who truly matter~!" Tana almost seemed to shiver a bit when stating that her fans are the ones who matter, turning around and walking off. Ruby followed behind her, and even Poppy, but Kanaya stayed behind for just a moment.

"Er... Sorry about her, she's a bit... Bratty."

"You can do something about it, right?" Lilliana asks Kanaya, "I mean, you are the ultimate child caregiver, any chance you could teach her manners?"

"She's not really a child, she's not as gullible as actual children. She's kinda doomed to act that way for the rest of her days," Kanaya turns to look to the three mons padding away and shrugs, "I should get back to them. Praise seems to calm her down though, but that's only from an hour of experience."

Lilliana nods, "Alright yeah, you go calm her down. I'll meet with some of the others."

"You go do that. Good luck," Kanaya says, catching up to the other three mons and walking away with them. This left Lilliana alone once again, to talk with some of the others.

Lilliana went back to looking around, noticing only three other pokemon she had yet to actually meet with. A Jangmo-o, a Sylveon, and a Lucario. All three looked sorta interesting and Lilliana wanted to speak with them all, so she decided to just follow nearest to furthest to meet them, and the nearest at that moment was the Jangmo-o.

She pads beside him with a small smile on her face, "Hello," She chimes, "Who are you?"

"Like you actually wanna know," The Jangmo-o rolls his eyes, letting out a small, slightly annoyed huff.

"Uh... Yeah, I do actually. Here, maybe it'll help if I go first," She gives a small nod of her head, smile growing, "My name is Lilliana, and I am the Ultimate Musician!"

Salvador turns his head, looking to Lilliana...

... And lets off a low sigh.

"Fine. I'm Salvador, Ultimate 'Basketball Star', there, you happy now?" He seemed the slightest bit angrier after announcing his talent.

 ** _SALVADOR - JANGMO-O - ULTIMATE BASKETBALL STAR_**

 ** _COMING FROM A LARGE FAMILY FILLED WITH THE GREATEST FROM BASKETBALL, SALVADOR HAS TAKEN THOSE BASKETBALL SKILLS AS HIS OWN, AND IN PAST EXPERIENCES HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE ONE OF THE BEST! HOWEVER, HE QUIT BASKETBALL..._**

"Oh basketball? That sounds nice. Eh, how do you play basketball with your body?"

Salvador shuts his eyes, breathing in and out again in annoyance, "How DID I PLAY basketball. I don't play that garbage anymore, and you wouldn't care how I played with my body."

"... Alright... Er, Sorry for bothering you..."

"Just leave," He lets off with a low grumble, and Lilliana, now wearing a small frown, proceeds to do so, turning around and padding away.

 _Why are so many of these other pokemon such assholes? And most of their egos are fucking massive. Though I guess I can't complain, I've been known to be the same way... That's why I've been trying to turn a new leaf and be more kind... Start off fresh._

The next closest mon to Lilliana was the Sylveon, the Espeon having to pad between seats to get to the Sylveon and sitting beside her. She seemed a bit upset, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"... I'm scared..." The Sylveon remarks, sniffling...

"Aww, come here," Lilliana frowns a bit as she leans up against the Sylveon, wrapping one of her front legs along her back, "I'll be honest, I'm kind of scared too, but soon we'll get an explanation for this, and soon, we'll be able to leave..."

"... I hope so..." She shivers a bit, "I just... I have a bad feeling about this... I don't want to get hurt..."

"Don't worry, don't worry... It's gonna be alright..." Lilliana lets off a small sigh, "I'll make sure nothing happens to you..."

The Sylveon gives off another sniffle, "Th-Thanks..."

"So, who are you?" Lilliana asks, tilting her head just the slightest bit.

She watches as the Sylveon rubs one of her ribbons against her nose, wiping off some gunk after another few sniffles turned dirty, "I-I'm Libby... U-Ultimate Poker Player..."

 ** _LIBBY - SYLVEON - ULTIMATE POKER PLAYER_**

 ** _SHE HAS A SORT OF ESSENCE AND FIGHT IN HER WHEN PLAYING POKER, SHE CAN GET CONFIDENT AND SORT OF COCKY ON THE PLAYING FIELD, THOUGH AT THE SAME TIME, IS INSANELY INTELLIGENT IN THE FIELD AND USES HER AWARENESS AND ABILITY TO READ OTHER PLAYERS TO COME OUT VICTORIOUS! MANY POKEMON COMMENT ON HOW HER PERSONALITIES IN POKER AND IN LIFE ARE ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER!_**

"You seem a bit upset for someone who's known as the Ultimate Poker Player," Lilliana comments, leaning in a bit closer.

"... I'm just... I'm different when I'm not playing poker... I-I'm a lot l-less confident and... N-Not as exciting to watch... A-A lot of other p-pokemon bring up h-how different I am pl-playing and in r-real life..."

"Ah... I understand..." Lilliana slowly lifts her head, looking over in the direction of the Lucario... He was sitting down, sort of silent.

But before she could speak up a little more to Libby, she had spoken up, "Th-That's Lucas... Ultimate Pokemon Battler..."

 ** _LUCAS - LUCARIO - ULTIMATE POKEMON BATTLER_**

 ** _HE'S DEFEATED COUNTLESS POKEMON IN BATTLE ALL OVER THE WORLD, RECENTLY EVEN GOING UP AGAINST AND DEFEATING THE FORMER ULTIMATE POKEMON BATTLER TO EARN THE TITLE! HIS BATTLING STYLE IS MOST KNOWN FOR FOLLOWING A FEW WORDS, "SILENT BUT DEADLY"_**

"Huh? Is he now? Maybe I should talk to hi-"

Lilliana is interrupted though... By a sudden loud and creepy voice, higher pitched yet definitely male, spilling out from the loudspeakers...

"Puhuhu~! Students, take a seat~! Your orientation starts in just a few minutes~!"

As the speaker went off after the sudden announcement, sounds of confusion arose from most of the other mons in the room, whilst some continued to remain silent. Though slowly, unsurely, everyone obeyed the demand and sat down, some mons bundling up together, and some staying all alone...

As each second passed by, waiting for the unknown orientation to begin, Lilliana could feel her bodies overdrive into absolute worry... Still sitting next to Libby, she continued to wait, heart thumping in her chest... She wanted an immediate explanation for all of this, though she wasn't sure if she would truly get it.

All eyes were on the stage as the lights in the auditorium dimmed down, save for two headlights that pointed down toward the aforementioned table with a red tarp draped over it...

"INTRODUCING!" The shouting shot through the loudspeaker at top volume, causing almost every mon in the auditorium to have to cover their ears. That was when the moment came.

From right behind the table, the form of a teddy bear suddenly leaped up into the sky! The bear was half white and half black, aside from a patch in the center of its belly that was all a darker white, sporting a comically large belly button. The face was similar to that of the logo on the side of the monitor Lilliana had seen earlier...

Black eye on the white sed, Red scar-looking eye on the black side. White snout with little black nose. Lips that formed a smile on the white side and a large, devious and toothy grin on the other. The image was clear and easily traced the monitor back to... Whoever this was.

As quickly as the bear had soared into the air, he fell right down, plopping on his feet and standing tall for all to see. He rose his black arm up, and the bear... The... Teddy Bear... Spoke... "HEADMASTER MONOKUMA!"

The voice was clearly the same from the one that had spilled from the loudspeakers not long before, multiple times, and the sight was gasp-inducing for many around, Lilliana included. Her eyes were wide as she store out before her, and as the bear, er, Monokuma, had gone quiet, so too did the rest of the auditorium...

Silence remained for a good fifteen seconds before it was acknowledged by the bear, "Puhuhu, too shocked for words I suppose! I have that effect on mons like you~"

"Who the hell are you?!" Tana spoke up in some blaze of confusion and anger at the sight, "Why the hell are we here?!"

"So, I need to introduce myself again do I?! I'm Monokuma! The Headmaster of this academy! And as for your second question, you'll find out quite soon enough!" A growl came from the bear, "So why don't ya just shut up and let me speak pussy doll!"

"P-Pussy doll?!" The Shinx quickly rose up from her seat in more of a fit of anger than before, "If anyones a pussy doll it's you! You're just a fucking teddy bear!"

"Puhuhu, throwing my words against me are ya?! Good practice, **_you'll need it!_** And some of you have already thought up, I'm not some ordinary teddy bear! No no no, I clearly am not! So I suggest you shut it before sixteen turns to fifteen!" He shouts, raising his white paw up to his face, razor-sharp claws poking out in a moments notice!

That threat seemed to keep Tana quiet for that moment, and while others clearly had some questions to ask, Monokuma wouldn't have it, "Now please!" He continued, "Hold all questions til the end of the announcement, or unless I demand questions!"

"Today is the day all of your lives change forever! Constantly threatened, always in danger, never knowing when your last moments will come!"

"What the hell are you getting at?" Another mon interrupts, Salvador, letting off an annoyed groan, "Can you just unlock the door and let us out of here?"

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT QUESTIONS?!" Monokuma would shout, leaping off the table and making incredibly air, landing on top of the backrest of the empty seat right in front of Salvador, "I said 'HOLD ALL QUESTIONS TIL I ALLOW IT'!"

"Okay then," He glares up at Monokuma, almost as if he wasn't scared... "Let us the fuck out of here!"

"No can do! You're enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy's newest program! All of you are!" Monokuma soon leaped back to his table once more, standing taller and prouder than before, "This program is different than you may expect! You could say it's more of a social experiment than anything!"

"This social experiment is meant to test two things out of ya! The first, how long does it take for a group of pokemon to go INSANE without any contact from the outside world?! _And the second is less important..."_ His last statement was in a more hushed tone, but it didn't matter, as everyone grew hung up on that first statement.

"Go insane?!"

"No contact from the outside world?!"

"How long do you plan on keeping us here?!" Was a question most popular among the group of mons. Libby was getting extremely uncomfortable beside Lilliana, so most of the Espeon's attention was unfortunately focused on trying to calm Libby down, who was close to resuming crying.

"Blah Blah Blah! Everyone just shut it! How long I plan on keeping you bozo's here is up to me and me alone, and those plans can be summed up in one word!" He paused for a moment...

...

"FOREVER!"

An immediate uptake of chatter spilled throughout the room, mons either confused and talking to others, or outraged and shouting at the damn bear, but it was all hushed with another statement.

"SHUT UP BEFORE I KILL YOU ALL! LET ME EXPLAIN DAMNIT!"

"You all may be locked in here for the rest of your pathetic existences, but that doesn't mean there's absolutely no way to escape! Actually, there's one way out you'll find _particularly_ effective! Go on, raise your hands, guess guess!"

Though the one time Monokuma demanded guesses, demanded possible answers... No one spoke up.

Granted, it didn't help that he gave less than a second as enough time to guess.

"Alright alright I get it, none of ya are smart enough to understand! I'll spell it out for ya! Hell I'll spell it out backwards and forwards just so you understand more clearly!"

 **R**

 **E**

 **D**

 **R**

 **U**

 **M**

 **UH HUH~!**

 **M**

 **U**

 **R**

 **D**

 **E**

 **R**

 **"THAT'S RIIIIIIIGHT THE ONLY MEANS OF ESCAPE IS OUTRIGHT, COLD BLOODED MURDER!"**

"MURDER?!"

"HE EXPECTS US TO KILL?!"

"THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!"

Once again disbelief raged throughout the auditorium, and fear spilled through Lilliana's heart at those words... Out of everyone who spoke though, Lilliana, who was clearly the quietest talking voice, was the only one acknowledged by Monokuma, "Murder...? He... He can't expect us to just kill and flee... Can he...?"

"Oh no no no! I certainly don't expect a simple stab or slash, and a get out of jail free card to be bestowed upon you! Hell no!"

"What I expect is for you to get AWAY with murder!"

Voices rose once more, though Monokuma this time simply spoke over them, "Everything will be explained in these!" He suddenly leaped down behind the table, and before long, little tablets started being tossed out from behind the covered table. The tossing had a surprising amount of precision, each toss directed straight at mons throughout the room. Lilliana was able to gather her own and Libby's with psychic, and as Lilliana powered hers on, her name was shown clearly on the screen.

 _Lilliana Marks_

As the tablet powered completely on though, all that was shown on the screen was an angry Monokuma face, with text that reads, "PAY ATTENTION TO THE LECTURE!" being shown too.

Monokuma let out grunts as he clambered back onto the table, "E-Handbooks for the lotta ya's! Puhuhu, now that that's out of the way, are there any questions?!" Once more, he waited less than a split second to speak up, "Okay, since no one has anything to say, I'll leave you all to yourselves! Go over the rules, follow them, make them your damn life! They are the ONLY RULES you must follow here! Most importantly of all though, if you really want out of here, get the killing started!"

And with his tidings of goodbyes, he simply dipped down, dropping behind the table and disappearing. As he left, Ishtar, who was sat rather close to the stage, quickly burst out of her seat and lept onto the stage. Diving behind the table, and even poking her head under the covers and behind the stage, she was left with a rather terrifying realization...

She stood up, behind the table, and spoke... "He... He got away! I couldn't find any exits around here and yet he somehow got away!" Chatter once more reigned through the auditorium, mons getting up and starting to look around, talking to others, all in some sort of panic or worry.

Though through the disarray, it seemed the group had possibly gained something that would help in the long run.

"Alright everybody, remain calm and quiet!" Ishtar, still behind the table, now spoke up, trying to gain silence around the room. Thanks to her loud, booming, and rather authoritative voice, she was able to get that silence believe it or not, "It's hard to say this but I say, for now, while we look for an exit, we should... Go over these rules, and follow them. I can say with great confidence that we will be out of here by at least the weeks end!"

"And why the hell should we listen to you now?" Salvador stomped up onto the stage, standing by the stairs that led up there, "As far as we know, you could be in league with the fucker!"

"I doubt anyone is in league with that vile mon, especially someone as smart and powerful as I am! I say for now, we should elect a leader, and without a doubt, it should be me! I will make sure that none of us die, and all of us will remain safe!"

"Miss Ishtar," A bit softer and more polite of a voice speaks up, Aster now padding his way up onto the stage and beside the table, staring up at the Arcanine, "If anyone should be the leader, shouldn't it be the mon with experience in leading? It should be a prince like me."

Ishtar rolled her eyes a bit, looking back down to the Alolan Vulpix, "Listen here sir-"

"Prince Aster," He interrupts, "I apologize for the interruption, but that is how I need to be addressed. Please continue."

"... Prince Aster... In these kinds of situations, with a lot more terror involved, leading a group of mons to safety rather than leading a colony for all eternity, it's gonna have to be the mon with experience in this type of thing, and that would be a police officer like me. I'm trained to do things like this."

"Oh, okay Miss Ishtar," As if the topic had meant nothing to him, or moreso as if he was so easily convinced of Ishtar's side being the correct side, Aster had turned and sat beside the table, and left the topic alone.

It didn't take long at all before Ishtar continued her speech, "So, I say again, that right now we listen to the damned bear, to everything that doesn't have to do with murder! That is the most likely way to get out of this mess, to comply until we're out of here! And I believe that can start with reading the rules!"

"You want us to read the fucking rules at a time like this?!" Tana is back to shouting, like she had done early with Monokuma, "We don't wanna listen to the bear, why the hell would we wanna listen to anyone supporting the damned bear?!"

"Oh shut it Tana," Ishtar rolls her eyes, "This is the best course of action now, and anyone else taking any other course of actions is just a fool! Now then, let me read the rules!"

Once more silence befell the auditorium as Ishtar took out her e-handbook, scrolling to the rules section, as did Lilliana to better follow along. What was displayed was a single rule at the moment, but an arrow indicated that there were more rules.

Ishtar then began to read the rules, loud and clear so everyone can understand.

 _ **RULE #1**_

 _ **STUDENTS MAY RESIDE ONLY WITHIN SCHOOL. LEAVING CAMPUS IS AN UNACCEPTABLE USE OF TIME.**_

"This will be the only rule that we won't follow of course! Since once we escape we'll be off campus!"

 _ **RULE #2**_

 _ **"NIGHT TIME" IS AT 10 PM TO 7 AM. SOME AREAS ARE OFF LIMITS AT NIGHT TIME, SO PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION.**_

"That's only nine hours! That still gives us 15 hours a day to check and find every possible way of escape!"

 ** _RULE #3_**

 ** _SLEEPING ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE DORMITORY WILL BE SEEN AS SLEEPING IN CLASS AND PUNISHED ACCORDINGLY._**

"We are still unsure of what he means by punishment, but I doubt it's anything too Ludacris. Still, without that knowledge, it's a safe idea to follow this sleeping rule."

 ** _RULE #4_**

 ** _WITH MINIMAL RESTRICTIONS, YOU ARE FREE TO EXPLORE HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY AT YOUR DISCRETION._**

"This rule works out great for us! But it still helps to find out what these 'minimal restrictions' are!"

 ** _RULE #5_**

 ** _VIOLENCE AGAINST HEADMASTER MONOKUMA IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED, AS IS DESTRUCTION OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS._**

"Once we're out of here, I'm apprehending the fucker, so of course the first part of this rule is meaningless! And I'm sure by now he already knows our plans to escape, no need to hide it from him!"

 _ **RULE #6**_

 _ **ANYONE WHO KILLS A FELLOW STUDENT AND BECOMES "BLACKENED" WILL GRADUATE, UNLESS THEY ARE DISCOVERED.**_

"No killing will happen, I can assure everyone of that! So there's no need to make this rule an important one!"

 ** _RULE #7_**

 ** _ADDITIONAL SCHOOL REGULATIONS MAY BE ADDED AS NECESSARY._**

"Alright then, that's all the rules! Does everybody understand them, and what each one truly means to us?"

"I uh... Am a bit curious on number six," Lilliana spoke up now, "I... What do you think he means by 'unless they are discovered'?"

Ishtar would let settle a gruesome glare down toward Lilliana, "Does it really matter to you, huh?! It shouldn't matter unless you're planning on killing someone!"

"I-I'm not!" Lilliana spoke back, frowning, "I-I'm just curious is all! I-I don't want a-anyone to die!"

Ishtar goes silent for a moment, that glare continuing to tear through Lilliana's soul... As she was about to speak up once more though, another voice started to speak, however a bit quieter. Still loud enough for most in the auditorium to hear...

"D-Death... I-I can't t-take... D-Death..." The voice of Libby spilled out of the Sylveon's maw, and she started to sway around some in a loopy and dazed fashion, soon her eyes shutting as she tilts far forward and slips off her chair, colliding with the floor and fainting! This causes a gasp from Lilliana, leaping off of her own chair and crouching beside her.

"O-Oh gosh! Libby, are you okay?!" Lilliana whines lowly, standing over the Sylveon now and trying to shake her awake!

"Calm down! Trying to wake her up like that isn't gonna solve anything!" Ishtar shouts out, "Let her wake up on her own, calmly!"

"B-But what if she doesn't wake up?!" Lilliana replies now, stopping her shaking of Libby's body but continuing to stare down at the fainted mon...

"If she doesn't wake up by the time night time starts, then we can try and wake her up like that! For now, let her rest and wake up on her own!"

"Is there anything else we can do in the meantime?" Another voice interjected, this time Zachary, "I think it may be a good idea if we split into groups, explored the school and all that."

"Someone else is finally presenting a good idea!" Ishtar huffs out, "Alright then, we're gonna split into groups of four, all even, hows that sound? Three groups explore the school, and one group stays here."

The plan to split off into groups began without a problem at all. Ishtar organized the group that stayed in the auditorium, which was Libby of course, and herself to oversee the operations. She also chose Lilliana to stay, wanting to 'keep an eye on her', as well as Aster.

That left the other twelve mons to split up into their own groups and get on their own ways, with each other group also consisting of four mons.

The first group consisted of Lucas the Lucario and Ultimate Battler, Salvador the Jangmo-o and Ultimate Basketball Player, Tana the Shinx and Ultimate Popularity Magnet, and Rosalie the Roserade and Ultimate Botanist.

The second group consisted of Kanaya the Gardevoir and Ultimate Child Caregiver, Poppy the Brioone and Ultimate Shipper, Timaeus the Hydreigon and Ultimate Prankster, and Archimedes the Gliscor and Ultimate Conspiracist.

The third and final group consisted of Zachary the Zorua and Ultimate Author, Glenn the Chespin and Ultimate Stealth Expert, Jon the Grovyle and Ultimate Lucky Student, and finally, Ruby the Scrafty and Ultimate Graffiti Artist.

They all split up within their own groups and left the auditorium, leaving Lilliana, Ishtar, Aster, and a still unconscious Libby all on their own.

A bit of time had passed since the split, and everyone had agreed to meet back up at the auditorium around 8 PM. Since the split had taken place around 6 PM, that meant a good two hours were devoted to getting a basic look around the overall layout of Hope's Peak Academy.

But at this point in time, a good hour had already passed, and Lilliana had spent it all watching over Libby, making sure nothing happened to her in her unconscious state. She did look around occasionally, and what she ended up seeing most of the time was Ishtar up on stage, or possibly back behind stage, behind the curtain where no one could see her, looking for clues or anything that could possibly help the large group get out of this school.

Aster had followed Ishtar throughout the Arcanine's little expedition to find anything helpful to the group, though after a while of having gotten bored, Aster padded his way up to Lilliana and Libby, sitting across from Lilliana, on the opposite side of Libby, and smiling down at her, "She must be enjoying her nap, right?" Aster questioned with a tilt of his head.

This made Lilliana sigh some in annoyance, especially having to talk to the mon who claimed that she was less than he was... "She isn't napping, she passed out. Ishtar wants us to wait for her to wake up."

"Oh, okay," He said, reaching one of his paws out and suddenly slapping it across the Sylveon's face. This sudden slap does nothing aside from move Libby's head a little bit, "Come on, wake up. You need to be awake."

"No! Stop that!" Lilliana shouts out over Aster, quickly leaping over Libby, and staring down to Aster, "You can't do that, she needs to wake up on her own!"

"But we need her awake, don't we?"

"Ishtar wants us to wait _for her_ to wake up! Not wait for us to wake her up!" Lilliana huffed out.

This caused Aster to take a step back, "Okay. And Miss Lilliana, I would recommend that you do not blow air on me like that. It is disrespectful, and looking down on me is just as disrespectful, so please do not do so."

Lilliana blinks once or twice, before sighing, "... I think Miss Ishtar needs your help again."

"Okay," Aster replies, turning around and padding away from the duo of eeveelutions, Lilliana watching as he did so.

She sighed once more once he was far enough away, looking down. What she saw though was not what she expected, Libby looking up at Lilliana with a small blush, eyes open, shivering...

"Oh hey, you're awake," Lilliana smiled down to the Sylveon, backing off of her and sitting down.

She watched as Libby started to slowly pull herself up, breathing deeply as she pulled up into a seated position.

"Are you alright?" Lilliana asked with a tilted head, "You aren't hurt or anything, are you?"

"J-J-Just a l-little w-weak... I-I'll be fine..."

"Alright," Lilliana nodded, leaning forward and giving Libby a small hug, wrapping her front arms around her, "I'm just glad you're alright right now... I suppose it would be helpful to get caught up on everything, right?"

"Y-Yes please... I-It would be very helpful..."

The next while was spent with Lilliana catching Libby up on all the happenings, in regards to splitting everyone up, and after that, more time was spent simply talking to Libby and getting to know the Sylveon a little more, gaining a bit closer of a connection to her. The two got pretty enveloped in the conversation, so much so that it was interrupted by the door of the auditorium opening, and mons starting to pile inside!

"Huh?" Lilliana seemed a little confused, but when she noticed on a clock on the wall that the time was just around 8 o'clock, so it made much more sense, "Wow, time flew by there..."

"Y-Yeah..."

Every mon all started to gather up on the stage, Lilliana and Libby also even standing up to follow suit. Ishtar stood behind the table and everyone else was basically gathered in a crowd right in front of her.

"Alright, so nows definitely a good time to address everyone with everything that we know. I'll start off, then the other groups can send someone up here to let us know what they found."

"So, here in the auditorium, I couldn't find anything really. No exits, no secret escapes. Which confuses me on how the bear could've escaped... But that's it. That's everything we know here."

Ishtar steps to the side and goes silent watching as Rosalie, the Roserade from the first group steps up behind the table, wearing a small smile, "We found quite a lot around the school actually, and we have a lot to work with. Though there were some areas blocked off, like a staircase up to the second floor, we still found many rooms."

 **FOUR CLASSROOMS, 1-A THROUGH 1-D**

 **THE AUDITORIUM**

 **A SCHOOL STORE**

 **A LIBRARY WITH ONE FLOOR, AND A ROOF THREE STORIES HIGH, AS WELL AS A DOOR**

 **AN OVERLOOK OF THE LIBRARY THAT IS UP THREE STORIES HIGH, WITH A BALCONY OVERLOOKING THE LOWER FLOOR**

 **A SUPPLY CLOSET AT THE LIBRARY OVERLOOK, THE ONLY DOOR UP THERE**

"And that's everything we saw."

Rosalie steps off to the side, and the next mon to step up is Kanaya, "Us and the third group actually found a hallway that split into three things. They're all labeled, with 'School Side' and 'Dorm Side' directly across from each other, and splitting off midway between them was a hall that leads up to a door, the sign above it reading 'Trial Side'. Our group went to look over the trial side area, but we couldn't get past the door no matter how hard we tried. Even with Timaeus helping us, we simply couldn't get past the door."

 _Trial side...? Could that have something to do with rule number six...? 'Unless they are discovered', right...? Could that be where we have the chance to discover the killer...?_

Kanaya pads up beside Rosalie and Ishtar, leaving the last mon, Zachary, to step forward, having to clamber up on top of the box to see over it, "We went to the dorm side area, and found these rooms:"

 **A CAFETERIA CONNECTED TO A KITCHEN**

 **A LAUNDRY ROOM**

 **A TRASH ROOM**

 **SIXTEEN DORM ROOMS, ONE FOR EACH OF US**

"We also saw a note on a wall in there that gave us some helpful information, like telling us how each room has its own bathroom. Each dorm can lock for itself, but only the woman's bathroom doors can lock, while the men's bathroom doors cannot. Additionally, during the nighttime hours, water to our bathrooms turns off. That's all that we found out."

Ishtar nodded, stepping back behind the table as the other three returned to the group, "Alright then, great discoveries guys! We have plenty to work with in getting out of this hell hole!"

Some cheers came from the crowd, but many were left quiet. It's as if many of the group didn't actually believe that they would get to escape. Though soon the cheers of others hushed, and Ishtar resumed her talking.

She suggested that everyone rests for the night since there is just enough time now to shower and prepare for bed before night time. No one seemed to object to getting some rest at least, and after Ishtar had told everyone that tomorrow, as night time ends, everyone needs to gather in the cafeteria, everyone finally dispersed.

Lilliana walked Libby throughout the long and dark halls of the school, finding that everything that had been described to them was very true. All the different rooms, the cross section of hallways, all of it was as described.

Lilliana and Libby searched through for their dorms, finding that they were the first two in the hall, thankfully right across from each other. The dorms were organized as such:

 **Lilliana - Libby**

 **Lucas - Zachary**

 **Poppy - Rosalie**

 **Jon - Glenn**

 **Tana - Ishtar**

 **Timaeus - Aster**

 **Ruby - Kanaya**

 **Salvador - Archimedes**

And at the end of the hall were doors leading to the known Laundry and Trash Rooms, as well as the Cafeteria.

Libby and Lilliana departed not long after finding their dorms, stepping into their own rooms. As Lilliana padded on, she found her room to hold pink walls, with black musical notes covering them, as a nice wallpaper to showcase her talent more. There was a black table that held a key, and a large nametag was on the keyring with it, that read out Lilliana's full name clearly. Additionally, there was a recliner beside the table, and a bed near the other side of the room, with pink sheets, and two end tables on either side. There was a closet on one side of the bed, and on the other, a door that lead to the bathroom.

After getting acquainted with the room, Lilliana took a quick shower to clean herself off, and after getting nice and dry, dropped down onto her bed, with a loud sigh.

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

The sound of bells rang through the school, and a monitor in Lilliana's room turned right on, showing Monokuma sitting behind a desk, which all looked rather official. He was leaning back in his seat and had his feet kicked up on top of the table, and spoke.

 **AHEM! THIS IS A SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **IT IS NOW OFFICIALLY NIGHT TIME!**

 **THE DOORS TO THE CAFETERIA, LAUNDRY ROOM, AND TRASH ROOM WILL ALL BE LOCKED AND ENTRY WILL BE STRICTLY PROHIBITED ANYTIME AFTERWARD!**

 **SLEEP TIGHT EVERYONE! MAKE SURE YOU'VE LOCKED YOUR DOORS, UNLESS YOU WANT A KNIFE IN YOUR THROAT!**

Just as quickly as the tv had turned on, it turned right back on, and reminded of locking the doors, Lilliana considered that the best thing to do, quickly standing up and grabbing her keys, locking her dorm door bedore once more collapsing onto bed, dropping her keys on the end table next to her.

 _This... This won't truly be the end... I know that for sure..._

 _We... We'll get out of here... We will all work together and get the hell out of here..._

 _I... I don't see anyone here willing to commit murder, at any time..._

 _Tomorrow... Tomorrow we will surely be out of this school..._

 _Tomorrow..._

Lilliana fell asleep with hope that tonight will be the only night she would be sleeping in this terrible school.

* * *

 **MONOKUMA THEATER #1**

 **THESE KIDS THINK HOPE IS ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF THIS SCHOOL!**

 **HOPE OF GRADUATION, WORKING HARD TO GET THOSE GRADES UP JUST ISN'T ENOUGH SOMETIMES, YA KNOW?**

 **SO THEY TRY TO DITCH INSTEAD, IF THEY CAN'T PASS THEN WHY EVEN BOTHER TRYING?**

 **BUT THE HALL MONITORS AND ATTENDANCE OFFICERS WON'T ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN!**

 **THEY'LL ALWAYS BE STUCK IN THIS SCHOOL, UNTIL THEY GRADUATE, OR FAIL!**

 **THEY'LL SEE IF THEY JUST PUT ENOUGH WORK INTO IT THOUGH, THEY MAY PASS WITH FLYING COLORS!**

 **OR, AT LEAST THEY CAN SAY THEY TRIED!**

 **AS THEIR LIFE IS UTTERLY RUINED AT THEIR FAILED ATTEMPTS TO GRADUATE!**

 **AHHH, DESPAIR!**

 **HOW IT FILLS MY HEART WITH LUST!**

* * *

 _Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! The official prologue of Danganronpa! We tried our hardest to make as great a chapter as possible, so please leave some feedback in reviews!_

 _I'd also like to say, in the effort to make sure we get chapters out a bit quicker, each 'chapter' will be seperated into three entries! For example, here's how this story may come out with the full first chapter:_

 _1 - Prologue_

 _2 - Chapter 1 - Daily Life_

 _3 - Chapter 1 - Deadly Life_

 _4 - Chapter 1 - Class Trial_

 _Understandable?_

 _Alright guys, thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed!_


	3. CH1 Day 2 - A Cruel Mistress

**DANGANPOKE**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **A CRUEL MISTRESS**

 _ **DAILY LIFE - DAY 2**_

* * *

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **BONG BING DONG DING**

Lilliana sturred some in bed due to the sound of the school bells ringing, and her eyes opened up, peering toward the monitor which had just turned on.

Monokuma sat down same as last night, leaning back in a desk chair, legs kicked up over the desk.

 **AHEM! THIS IS A SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **RISE AND SHINE EVERYONE, IT'S NOW 7 AM, WHICH MEANS NIGHT TIME IS OFFICIALLY OVER!**

 **LET'S** **MAKE SURE TO MAKE TODAY AS AMAZING A DAY AS WE CAN, GUYS!**

The monitor flickered off into static once more, leaving Lilliana now awake in her bed. She yawned, rolling out of bed and down onto her paws, and stretched.

After stretching, she took a moment to gather a look to her surroundings, letting off a saddened sigh...

 _Ugh... Still in this place... Well, not for long anyway... I'm sure we'll find a way out..._

 _For now though, Ishtar wanted everyone to meet up for breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning, that seems like a good place to go..._

Without another thought to it, Lilliana would unlock her door and step out of her room. She didn't bother to lock the door back up behind her though.

As she stepped out, she saw the most familiar of faces from the day prior, Libby, slowly and cautiously stepping out of her room too. Lilliana couldn't help but smile, padding up to the Sylveon.

"Hey Libby," Lilliana started, the Sylveon's head immediately turning quickly to look toward the sudden voice, "You ready to get out of here?"

"I... Y-Yes... I-I am..."

Lilliana couldn't help but shine a small smile at Libby, "Well, today's the day for that to happen. Come on, lets meet up with everyone else at the cafeteria."

Libby nodded in agreement, and the two then made their way to the cafeteria. It was around 7:05 by that point, so when they walked in...

... There wasn't much of a surprise that a majority of pokemon were already in the cafeteria. There were a few small tables but there was also one central, long, oval table, with 16 seats surrounding it, enough for everyone.

As Libby and Lilliana walked inside, the latter heard her species called out behind her. She was quick to snap her head back in curiosity, seeing Ishtar lying down on the floor right beside the door, with a checklist...? Every mons species was written on the list, and each box of mons that were already inside was ticked off with a claw strike.

 _That's a bit, er... Over the top... Anyway... It seems only the Grovyle, Chespin, and Jangmo-o are yet to arrive... So that would be... Jon, Glenn, and Salvador, right?_

Lilliana seemed a bit unsure though still curious as she turned away and started padding toward one of the smaller tables, which Libby had sat at. Lilliana sat right beside her of course, and couldn't help but smile a small bit as she looked toward Libby, "Well, everyone is sorta cooperating, huh?"

"F-For now..." Libby gulps, "What i-if we can't find a-a way out...?" She suddenly questions, tilting her head, "And s-some of these m-m-mons start to b-betray us... M-Murder us..."

Lilliana frowned, "That's not gonna happen Libby," She reached a paw toward one of Libby's own, gripping hers, "I have a lot of confidence in us as a group, I'm sure we can all make it out, together."

"W-Why d-d-do you h-have confidence in th-these p-pokemon...? Y-You only just met th-them..."

"Well," Lilliana smiled some now, "While confidence seems like it's something that just needs to grow, your own confidence in someone, it's always a good idea to start off confident in others. Plus, with the sizes of some of us, and the skill that I can't help but see in others, I doubt we'll be in here all that long at all!"

All Libby did was nod back, slowly lowering her head. This caused Lilliana to reach out a paw, and open up her maw, about to ask what's wrong, before getting interrupted.

"Ugh, you saw that big bitch, right?" The female voice caught Lilliana's attention and she quickly turned toward it, seeing the Shinx sitting down across the table, Tana, "She's marking us off as we walk in, it's like she has complete control over us."

Lilliana rolled her eyes at the complaints, "It's probably for the safety of us all, tallying to make sure we're all here. Something could happen if some of us are split up in different areas."

"Still, at least ask permission first. She's such a bitch..."

 _Yeah, I assume a bitch would know what another bitch is like..._

Her thoughts simply showed her annoyance, and she just sighed, "Look, I'm kinda busy here, can you please go complain to someone else? Or maybe even bring that up to Ishtar if you're so disliking of it?"

Tana glared up to Lilliana, before soon huffing in anger and shaking her head, jumping off her chair, turning, and walking off, muttering words under her breath.

Lilliana turned back to Libby, noticing that the Sylveon, still slouching and looking quite down, had her head tilted up, looking to Lilliana, staring her eye to eye, "Y-You're c-c-confident in p-pokemon l-like her...? Ev-Even after wh-what you just said to her...?"

Lilliana blinked once or twice, starting to think back on that...

 _Oh uh, yeah... That is kinda contradictory to what I told Libby just a few moments prior, huh...?_

"Well, uh..."

"Y-You don't h-have t-to lie about wh-who you're c-c-confident in..." Libby speaks back now, lowering her head, "In th-this sort of s-setting, wh-where if there isn't any e-e-escape but to follow wh-what the bear w-wants us t-to do... It's best n-not to trust a-anyone..."

Lilliana's lips formed a small frown now as she looked down to Libby, letting off a small sigh, "W-Well, Libby, uh... I suppose there are some mons that I shouldn't trust... But, I doubt anyone would wanna listen to the damn bear... To do what, just mindlessly murder each other...?"

 **"ACTUALLY!"**

That familiar voice sounded, as Monokuma, the bear from just yesterday, suddenly plopped down onto the table, standing tall over Lilliana and Libby, grinning to the two slightly slouched forms!

 **"I DON'T WANT MINDLESS MURDER, NO NO, THAT WOULDN'T BE FUN AT ALL! I WANT A GOOD MYSTERY, I WANT A MURDER THAT YOU MONS PUT YOUR BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS INTO, TO TRY AND AVOID BEING FOUND OUT!"**

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU TRAP US HERE?!"

"LET US OUT NOW!"

Two mons in specific rushed up to Lilliana and Libby's side, Tana and Ishtar, with some of the others gathering around too. Lilliana had even noticed the presence of Jon and Glenn, yet still no Salvador, for some strange reason...

 **"AH AH AH, YOU HAVEN'T LET ME FINISHED! I CAN'T DO ANYTHING FOR YOU UNGRATEFUL BRATS UNTIL I'M FINISHED SPEAKING!"**

 **"THIS PLACE, THIS SCHOOL ALL AROUND YOU, IS WHERE YOU ALL LIVE NOW! THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TO WIN THE KILLING GAME~!"**

"What exactly do you mean by win the killing game?" A voice that Lilliana hadn't heard spoke up, causing the heads of many to turn in its direction. Standing there, well more technically leaning against the wall, was the Lucario from yesterday, Lucas, "You should specify it to us."

 **"YOU WANT SPECIFICS?! I'LL GIVE YOU SPECIFICS! THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO ESCAPE THIS PLACE! EITHER KILL SOMEONE AND GET AWAY WITH IT, OR, LAST UNTIL THE END!"**

 **"IF YOU DECIDE TO KILL SOMEONE, THEN YOU BECOME THE BLACKENED, AND YOUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE YOUR MURDER STAYS COVERED UP! THE TRIAL FOR THE MURDER WILL THEN GO TO THE CLASS TRIAL AREA, WHERE THE BLACKENED AND THE SPOTLESS FACE OFF!"**

"C-Class trial area?" Kanaya asks now, trying her best to keep up her composure, and while she seemed pretty calm to most of the group, a few, like Lilliana, noticed a few short stutters and stumbled, "That w-would have something to do with 'Trial Side', r-right?"

Ah yes, Kanaya was apart of the group that investigated the Trial Side...

 **"MMM HMM, THAT'S RIGHT! THAT'S WHERE THE CLASS TRIAL WILL BE HELD, PAST THOSE LOCKED DOORS! ESSENTIALLY, YOU'LL ALL BE PLAYING JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONER, POSSIBLY FOR YOUR OWN CRIME!"**

 **"AT THE END OF THE TRIAL, EVERYONE WILL VOTE FOR WHO THEY THINK THE BLACKENED IS! IF EVERYONE VOTES FOR THE CORRECT BLACKENED, THEN THEY'LL BE PUNISHED SEVERELY! BUUUUT, IF EVERYONE VOTES FOR THE WROOOOOONG BLACKENED, I'LL PUNISH EVERYONE CONSIDERED SPOTLESS, AND THE BLACKENED WILL BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE!"**

"And by punishment, y-you mean...?" Kanaya spoke again.

 **"WHY, DEATH OF COURSE! THE ONLY FITTING PUNISHMENT FOR COMMITTING MURDER!"**

An uproar was sure to start, but the speaking of Lucas once again seemed to chime that right back down, "Sounds about right," He shrugged, "You take a life, and you should give your own life as punishment."

"So wait, are you saying that you SUPPORT this killing game?!" Ishtar growls out, stomping her way through the crowd of mons and up to Lucas, glaring at him.

"Did I say that? No, I didn't. I said that that type of punishment does seem reasonable. Think about it too, if you betray a group of pokemon, you're no longer considered as being apart of that group, and the outcome of these 'trials' supports that. Either you die and the group lives on without you, or the group dies and you live on without them."

"Like he said, it's the blackened versus the spotless. And I'm sure the way everymon here would want it to be much more different, as in, the spotless versus monokuma. But I want you all to just take a moment and look at the pokemon around you."

"Just look at them, all of these faces unfamiliar to you, all of these names and personalities. You don't know a single mon around you. You can say you know them, but what I mean is, you don't _know_ them."

"Any of them could be playing a facade right now. They could've been lying this entire time. Because let's face it, if you can look at a mon and say that you don't trust them, odds likely are they can look back at you and say the exact same thing, and mean it too."

"Really, what I am trying to say is, this whole group thing that everyone is trying to start should end. You guys should stick with the mons you trust, and I mean _really_ trust, and try to find a way out yourselves."

"Otherwise, as Monokuma said, there are only two ways out of here."

"Right, and he only told us one of them in detail," After a very long explanation from Lucas, Zachary seemed to open his own maw, turning back to Monokuma, "You also mentioned lasting until the end, what would that entail?"

 **"AH YES, EVEN MORE SIMPLE THAN THE LAST! IT'S EASY REALLY... JUST DON'T KILL ANYONE, AND WHEN THERE ARE DEATHS, FIND THE BLACKENED! CONTINUE THIS PROCESS UNTIL THERE ARE ONLY TWO OF YOU LEFT, PUHUHU~!"**

"I think I understand now," Zachary shuts his eyes, letting off a small sigh, "So the only ways to get out of here are unlocked via murder."

Ishtar glared through the group toward the Zorua, "Oh, so now you support the bear too?!"

"No, I don't," He sighs, "I'm just trying to get a basic understanding of what he wants from us."

 **"I APPRECIATE THE COOPERATION! NOW, MURDER! MURDER LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! BECAUSE IT DOES~!"**

Before any questions can be gone, just as quickly as last time, he turned and slipped out the door. Ishtar had bothered to follow him, but by the time she got past the cafeteria doors, it was easily noted that he was gone again. With no certain way of escape, just like before too.

As Ishtar turned to look at the others, she gave off a face of slight uncertainty... At least, until her eyes had settled on two mons.

Lucas and Zachary, who had both been asking questions and slightly justifying Monokuma's reasonings.

A glare settles on the both of them... A harsh, furious glare, that evidenced how absolutely pissed off she was at them...

Ishtar starts to stomp her way over to the duo, who was now much closer to each other than before as Zachary had gone to Lucas to try asking him some questions about how he felt about what Monokuma had to say.

Once Ishtar reaches the duo, she slams her paw hard into the ground, actually sending cracks through the tile floor and creating a loud noise that caught the interest of the Lucario and Zorua. Both of their heads turned to look onto the furious Ishtar, who released a terrifying growl...

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

Zachary tilts his head, "Who, me or him?"

"BOTH OF YOU!" She replies, shouting loudly, turning to look up toward Lucas first, "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU SO CURIOUS ABOUT WINNING THE KILLING GAME?!"

Her loud question didn't fall on deaf ears for sure, as the Lucario's ears gave off a little twitch, indicating the sound was indeed too much for them. But, said question may as well have fallen on deaf ears, since the Lucario didn't make any motion to answer, staring right into the eyes of the Ultimate Police Officer.

"COME ON, TELL ME! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ASK HIM HOW TO WIN?!"

"Because, I was curious," he finally replies, "It was simple enough to ask for more info on how to get out of here, you want out too I'm sure. So think of it as a favor. I helped you find your way of escape."

The fury in Ishtar's eyes only grows, shaking her head, "LIKE HELL I'M GONNA MURDER SOMEONE TO GET OUT OF HERE! THAT'S AGAINST THE LAW, AND IN HERE, I AM THE DAMN LAW! I'M THE ONLY COP HERE SO I GOTTA MAKE SURE EVERYONE OBEYS THE LAWS OF THE WORLD!"

"You can try your hardest at that," Lucas replies, "But in the end, Monokuma seems to want things to be entirely different here than the outside world. I'm sure he'll go to any extreme to make that the case."

"YOU BETTER NOT PULL ANYTHING SK-"

"Save it," He interrupts Ishtar's anger, shaking his head as he starts to walk off, padding toward the front door of the cafeteria, and exiting without another word.

Ishtar takes a moment to glare, watching him walk off. Once he left the cafeteria completely, she turns back to Zachary...

"And you..." Her shouting seemed to calm down a bit to a slightly loud yet still completely furious voice, just a slightly quieter way of showing her anger, "What the hell were you doing asking about the other way to get out by his rules?!"

Zachary sighs, "I was curious, you know? He said there were two ways, and I wasn't sure if the other way involved murder or not. I'm sure we were all hoping it didn't, I was definitely one of those who was hoping so. I was wondering if there was a way to follow his rules and escape without breaking them, but that doesn't seem to be the case, so all we can do is break his rules to leave."

Ishtar's glare remains... Watching Zachary, listening to every word he says, before giving a small nod, "Yeah, that's fucking right. Don't think I'm not still pissed at you, but take this as a warning. Do something like that again and you're fucking done!"

After the scolding, she turns to look to everyone else in the cafeteria, who all had their focus set on the argument that was just witnessed. Thanks to the attention, Ishtar is able to speak without having to grab anyone else's attention, "IT'S OBVIOUS THAT WE CAN'T TRUST THAT LUCARIO, HE'S PROBABLY A TRAITOR, SO NO ONE SHOULD TALK TO HIM! IT COULD BE DANGEROUS!"

"Wait," Jon all of a sudden asks, the Grovyle who had came in later than most of the others standing up and giving off a look of confusion, "Should we really go in with the mindset of someone could be a traitor? That doesn't sound right... All of us want out equally as bad, why would anyone be working against us?"

"THERE'S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT HE IS AGAINST THE GROUP, YOU SAW HOW HE SUPPORTED WHAT THAT DEVIL BEAR WAS SAYING!"

Before Jon could reply back, pawsteps could be heard from another mon making his way into the cafeteria, the last to have not been checked off as an attendee at the first breakfast here, Salvador. He was about half an hour late... Geez...

Ishtar's head snapped to the last mon walking in, and a thought instantly came to her mind...

He was the only one that wasn't here when Monokuma arrived, huh...?

Ishtar was quick to put two and two together, and she was quick to leap into action, dashing up to Salvador rather quickly and skidding to a stop right in front of him. The suddenness of that caused Salvador's eyes to go wide, and he watched as Ishtar glared him down.

"Why the hell weren't you here when Monokuma was?! You were the only mon who wasn't here!"

"I overslept," He responded, "What the hell did he say?"

"Oh I see right through your lies!"

Salvador glared back up, huffing out, "I just woke up, I'm not dealing with this," Without another word, Salvador turned and walked right back out of the cafeteria. Padding away as Ishtar yelled loudly at him to get back in there and answer her questions!

In the heat of this anger, Lilliana noticed at a nearby table Tana talking to her little group of friends in Poppy, Kanaya and Ruby.

"I am not dealing with any more of this overcontrolling bitches shit. Let's get the hell out of here."

In any other situation, Poppy, Kanaya, and maybe even Ruby likely would not have listened to or followed Tana, but Tana's ultimate ability in popularity had quite the draw to those other three. How Tana ever managed to befriend those three as what definitely seemed like her own followers, Lilliana's head couldn't wrap around.

Nonetheless, the group of four all left, padding out as Ishtar had continued to yell out the door at Salvador, only stopping once she had noticed the other four fleeing.

What followed those events was a mostly quiet and rather awkward breakfast. Ishtar didn't eat her own share though, she felt that she was too furious to do so.

 _It's only been one day, and already, six of us want nothing to do with the rest..._

That thought was stuck in Lilliana's head. The fact that throughout one night, despite working semi-well the night before, tensions were already high enough to warrant a 10 to 6 split in who's working with who. That six can be cut down to an even smaller 4 to 1 to 1. How was all of this transpiring so quickly...?

"L-Like I s-said before..." Libby spoke up, no doubt many of the same things on her mind, "Y-You shouldn't tr-trust everyone r-right off the bat... F-Feel confident i-in ev-everyone so quickly... B-Because things c-can change on the fl-flip of a dime... A-And when they d-do, they l-leave you h-hurt... A-And wondering why..."

Lilliana went quiet...

After Lilliana had finished eating breakfast, she was left sitting there collecting her own thoughts, whilst Libby was still eating. They weren't alone with only each other for too long, before a certain voice spoke out.

"Hey," It was the voice of Zachary which caught Lilliana and Libby's attention, the two turning their heads to see Zachary sitting down, looking up at them, "Listen, I've been going around gathering up some others for something that could help us out. I have myself, Rosalie, Jon, and Glenn, and I'm looking for you two to help as well."

"What's up? What do you have in mind?" Lilliana asks.

"Well, I was wanting to go investigate the library with a large group, I could never do it by myself. I think it may help us find some interesting clues as to things like maybe how to get out of this school."

Lilliana turned her head to look to Libby, who just gave a small shrug, "D-Do as y-you wish... I-I'll h-help i-if you r-r-really w-want me to..."

Lilliana smiles a tiny bit and nods, turning back to Zachary, "Yeah sure, I think that'd be a great idea. Me and Libby would love to help."

"Good," Zachary nods his head, smiling, "Meet us at the library once you're all done here, then we can all get started."

With a nod in response back, Lilliana watches as Zachary makes his way off and out of the cafeteria. Lilliana waits; with now slightly hopeful thoughts in her head; for Libby to finish eating her breakfast, before the two then set off to meet the others in the library, for what could end up being a very important factor in escaping.

* * *

Walking down the corridors of the school, long and drawn out with not many doors, and a darker, mysterious lighting... It would've given off a dark, cruel feeling to most. But for Lilliana, she wasn't letting that feeling take over herself. She was smiling with Libby by her side, who was shaking.

Lilliana was pretty excited to get started investigating the library, she had little to no doubts that it'd yield results in finding clues about a way out of here.

It took a little bit for the duo to find the library, but soon, they came across the large double doors, with a sign above, being hung by one chain. 'Lakes Library' is what the sign read, though there seemed to be another few letters beside 'Lakes' that were scratched out, three in total. It wasn't that important of a detail though, so she wasn't left hanging on it for long.

Lilliana and Libby padded up to the large door and slowly pushed it open, padding into the large library... It was absolutely phenomenal...

The library was three stories tall in terms of height, bookcases lining up even the inaccessible parts higher up, and there was an overlook of the library clear on top. Bookcases were coating the surrounding walls aside from the front door and another small door, and there were also a few books tossed about on the floor, not many. There was also a large bookcase set up in the center of the library too, though it didn't rise up to the roof.

Zachary, Jon, Glenn, and Rosalie were all already in there, and split up too. Zachary was investigating the books in the center, whilst Rosalie, Jon, and Glenn each had corners of the library, leaving one corner and the overlook left.

Lilliana pads up to Zachary, sitting down on the floor, and gently pats him on the back with a smile, "Heya," She starts, Zachary looking up to her, "Libby and I are here to help."

Zachary just gives a small nod, looking back down at the book before speaking, "Great, Great, you can take the corner over there," He says, lifting a paw and pointing toward the last remaining corner, "And Libby can take the overlook," Without another word, he continues back to focus on his book, as if immediately shutting the other two mons out...

Lilliana looks to Libby and nods a little, following in Zachary's orders and padding toward the corner, whilst Libby makes her way to the single door and opens it up. Lilliana gets a chance to peek in and notices that inside is a large staircase, leading up toward the overlook on the third floor.

Lilliana takes a moment to examine her corner then, staring up the large mass of books she would have to be dealing with. There was a ladder at least that could be used to climb up to higher books, but still... Going through all these books would take months, even years...

... With a small sigh, she grabs up the nearest book and starts to skim through...

She skims through the entire book within about ten minutes before placing it on the ground and grabbing another one up, continuing this process for a vast majority of the morning and afternoon.

She had completely lost track of time doing this though, and once her tired, exhausted, and rather bored eyes looked up at a near clock... She noticed how it was already close to 7 PM, and her eyes went wide...

 _Holy shit, I... I spent ELEVEN HOURS SKIMMING THROUGH BOOKS?!_

She looks through the bookcase, taking note of the fact that she had gone through and skimmed all of the books from two whole shelves in her large corner... Her jaw almost went agape seeing the two long and empty shelves, however, there were at least thirty more shelves to deal with...

She took a step back, staring at her handiwork of mostly the entire day in disbelief...

She let out another loud sigh, this time of exhaustion, as she turned to walk back toward Zachary, who was still there, reading through another book. He only got through a handful of books on his first, much smaller shelf.

Lilliana sits down and stares to Zachary, patting him on the back to gain his attention, the Zorua quickly turning around to look at her.

"You only got through... A couple of books?" She asks, and Zachary nods.

"Yes, I like to admire through others works rather than skim through. If it was worth the author's time to write, then it should be worth my time to read through it all. Just like it's worth my time to write, so it should be worth others times to read my writings."

Lilliana nods a little bit, shutting her eyes, "Ugh, I read so much... I'm gonna stop for the night."

"No problem," Zach smiles a bit, "You've been the only one with me for the past few hours."

"I have?" She asks, taking a quick moment to look around and... Yeah, no one else was there!

"Yeah, the others left a while ago, first Jon and Glenn, then Libby, then Rosalie."

"Ah..." Lilliana nods her head, "Well, er, aren't you hungry at all? Would you wanna come and get something to eat?"

"Not really," Zachary shook his head, "I brought a salad bowl down here that I prepped this morning before I came, probably just gonna have at that in a moment then continue."

Lilliana nods her head, "Alright, good, good. Well, I'm gonna head out, alright?"

"Yeah, no problem," Zachary's smile grows some, "You go and eat, then sleep. We're continuing tomorrow if you're up to do so."

"Yeah, of course," Lilliana smiles, turning and starting to walk toward the door, "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya," He waves a bit and returns to skimming through the book he was reading with a small smile, as Lilliana finally pads out of the library.

* * *

It didn't take long for Lilliana to reach the cafeteria and prepare a comforting dinner for herself, sitting down and eating, left to think back on her day... The morning, of which was an absolute disaster with Monokuma and Lucas, especially Ishtar... The vast majority of the day packed with reading through books, just thinking about it making Lilliana yawn a bit.

Once finished with her meal, she went back into the kitchen, washed off her dish, and started for the exit, only for the door out of the kitchen to suddenly open up... And in strolls Libby.

When her eyes fell onto Lillianas frame, she let out something similar to a sigh of relief, "L-Lilliana, hey..."

"Hey Libby," Lilliana sends a small smile to the Sylveon, "What's going on?"

"I-I need t-to talk to y-you..." She starts, ears lowered, stepping out of the doorway of the kitchen and sitting down beside the door, Lilliana moving to sit right in front of her, in the way of the closed door.

"Is something wrong?" Lilliana asks, tilting her head a bit.

Libby nods slightly, "Y-Yeah, a-and I c-can't talk about it a-any other time... I-It has to be r-right now..."

"Why?" Lilliana seemed just a bit more confused, whilst Libby just shakes her head.

"B-Because I-I won't-"

Before Libby could finish speaking, the door suddenly slammed open, right up against Lilliana's face. She was pushed back by the incredible force, as it was quite the shove open, and she tumbled down onto her back.

Libby had gasped, but at the sight of Lilliana's body being on her back, on the ground, she was sort of... Blushing.

In steps Ishtar, the large Arcanine stomping in and ignoring Libby's sight, turning to see Lilliana on the ground, and rolling her eyes, "Ugh, Get up Lilliana! And stop showing off your hooch! That's indecent exposure!"

Lilliana looked pretty shaken up after the door had slammed in her face, slowly shaking her head to try and get her now jumbled mind back into place, whilst rolling over and pushing up to a stand. Ishtar had turned back around and her fluffy tail immediately wrapped around one of Lilliana's legs, starting to pull her out of the kitchen, "Come on, I need your help for something!"

"B-But w-w-wait," Lilliana's speech was a bit slurred, still shakey from the doors attack on her face, "L-Libby needed t-to t-tell me s-something..."

"That can wait, right now I NEED your help, so you're coming with me!"

Lilliana couldn't really struggle, as not only would those struggles be futile, they'd probably only piss off the ultimate police officer. So, all Lilliana could do was look back at Libby, as the Espeon was dragged out of the kitchen and the cafeteria, and toward Ishtar's room...

* * *

The duo soon reached Ishtar's room, the Arcanine pushing the door open quickly and pulling Lilliana in, shutting and locking the door behind her. Ishtar's room had black walls with large police sirens painted on, wailing with blue and red. This made Lilliana feel more and more like these rooms were designed specifically for them. That then just confused Lilliana more... Sure the school would know what rooms were assigned to who, but, would they really have gone out of their way to decorate like this?

 _It's very weird..._

Ishtar pulled Lilliana to a table with two chairs and finally letting go, sitting down in one chair and instructing Lilliana to sit down in the other, which she did.

"So, er... What did you need me for?" Lilliana asked slowly, confused since Ishtar had kept things very vague.

"You seem like one of the only people that I can trust here," She just blurts out all of a sudden, "Either the others are rude as fuck, or are close to the rude as fuck mons, or are just plain weird. Some are too quiet, some are too vocal. You just seem like one of the only semi-normal ones here.

"You... Think so?"

"Yes, I do," She looks straight to Lilliana, staring deep into her eyes, "That's why I brought you here. Since I feel I can trust you pretty well, I wanted to go over possible means of escape with you. Check over my research and see if we can confirm a surefire way out."

"Okay..." Lilliana turned away, perplexed, "Then... Why are we in your room? Shouldn't we go out and... Ya know... Look?"

"I already have a detailed map of the place," Ishtar reveals, standing and walking to one of her drawers, opening it up and bringing it to the table, setting it down, "I found it yesterday when I was investigating the table."

"Wait, so than you-"

"Yeah, I kept it secret," She sighs, "It was evidence, and there's no telling if someone among us could be a traitor or not. Imagine if I told everyone and somemon was a traitor, they could have tried to take it and rip it to shreds. This map is our only lead right now of a way out."

Lilliana looked down at the map, noticing many scribbles on it done with pen, arrows and such.

"It's just a map of this floor, unfortunately, but I noticed a few things that looked out of place from what we know," She points her paw down to the library on the map, "See here, on the wall across from the library, this map shows that there's a hidden staircase behind it, that leads up. It may be a way out if we can just find out how to get to the other side of that wall."

Lilliana inspected and found that Ishtar was correct, there seemed to be a staircase behind the wall...

"So... We're trusting this map?" Lilliana tilted her head, "And this is the only escape you've seen?"

Ishtar nods, "For the moment, yes. Though I'm not as observant as I'd like to be, which is another reason I wanted to see you. Seeing as you're psychic, I figured you might be a bit more observant normally."

"I've sorta considered myself observant, yeah," She nodded, "Though, er..."

"Though?" Ishtar tilts her head, looking over the much smaller Espeon's form.

"Er... Music kinda helps me focus a lot more..."

"Okay, and?" Ishtar lets out a small sigh of annoyance, "This place is void of any possible joy, do you expect me to find something that plays music for you or something?"

Lilliana blushes, shaking her head, "No no, just... I hope you don't mind if I sing while I look..."

Ishtar rolls her eyes, "Whatever helps us get out of here fastest."

Lilliana nods and looks down to the map.

 ** _ISHTAR AND LILLIANA SPEND TIME LOOKING OVER THE MAP TOGETHER, LILLIANA SINGING THROUGHOUT TO HELP HER FOCUS_**

After the duo spent about an hour looking over the map, they come to a conclusion.

"So, our only hopes are either that the staircase leads outside, or the large 'trial side' door leads to the exit," Ishtar shakes her head, looking a bit pissed off at what they've reached.

"The latter is unlikely though..." Lilliana frowns, ears drooping, "It leads into a square room connected to what seems to be mapped as an elevator. Though that elevator could still lead to a possible exit."

"So that's it then? We're fucked unless we find bombs in here?!" Ishtar's anger was only growing, pushing up from her seat and shoving it across the room, stomping around in anger.

"Now now, I-I-I wasn't saying th-th-"

"Then what the fuck were you saying?!" Ishtar shouts out loud...

"E-Er... U-Uh..." Lilliana gulps, "W-W-We still have some p-possible exits as I mentioned..."

"But all we can do is ride on the hope that they're actually exits, right?!"

"W-Well..." Lilliana nods slowly, "Y-Yeah..."

Ishtar goes quiet for a moment... The anger on her face only grows, quickly turning around and leaping forward into her bed, face scrambling up against the pillows, "Arceus damnit! Uuugh! Get out Lilliana, I need some time to calm the fuck down!"

Lilliana quickly nods, pushing out of her seat and standing up, starting to run out...

"Wait!" Ishtar suddenly calls out again, making Lilliana stand still in place...

She turns and looks back to the Arcanine, still looking furious, letting off a foul grumble...

"Y-Yes I-Ishtar..."

Ishtar sighs out in anger, "Do one thing for me, okay?" She said, still looking very pissed though very obviously trying to keep her composure, "Try to talk to the others who left this morning, see if you can get them back with us..."

Lilliana gulps a bit, "B-But... What if th-they're trai-"

"What if they aren't?!" Ishtar roars out in anger, "Just go fucking talk to them!"

"O-Okay, O-Okay..." Lilliana whimpers quietly, turning and rushing back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Lilliana sits down and pushed her back to the door, trembling and shaking, letting off a shaky sigh after being yelled at so lightly, needing to take just a moment to calm her nerves... She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths before opening them back up...

Across the hall, Lilliana notices a group of four mons talking together, Tana, Kanaya, Ruby, and Poppy... She gulps, thinking back to Ishtar's words, wanting her to speak to everyone who had left...

 _So that would be... Tana and her gang... Lucas... And Salvador... Why would she want me to talk to them all though? Especially Lucas? She seemed very vocal against them in the cafeteria..._

 _Well... No good questioning it right now... Whatever she's thinking may be best for everyone, so... Let's just get this over with..._

Lilliana gives a small nod to herself and pushes away from the door and back into a stand, padding her way forward toward the group of four, giving off a small smile as she walked closer, though she still trembled after the events just a minute ago...

"H-Hey guys," Lilliana starts, the four mons turning to look at her. It was quick that Tana turned and looked away though, walking to the door of her room and stepping inside, shutting and locking the door behind her.

The loud bang of the door shutting gets the attention of everyone, and Kanaya lets out a small gasp, quickly slipping in front of the door and knocking on it, "H-Hey, Tana! Why'd you do that?"

Lilliana gives off a small frown as this happens, taking a step back, "E-Er... I-I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean to make her mad..."

"It's no problem," Poppy chuckles, "She's mad very often, so you didn't really set her off."

"But er... You guys seemed to be having such a nice conversation."

"About how much 'we' hate Ishtar," Ruby steps into the conversation too with a roll of her eyes, "I have no idea why I ever liked this bitch, it's almost like we were lumped together or some garbage."

"I like her for the drama she likes to cause, heheh~" Poppy smiles, "It's always interesting watching drama that you aren't interested in unfold~"

"The kids call it tea, usually," Kanaya slips in as well after a long sigh, knowing quickly that Tana's stubbornness wouldn't let the Shinx out of the room, "She's not budging, I know that much."

"Well, er... If she does come out, I do need to talk to her sometime soon... It's pretty urgent..."

"No problem," Kanaya nods, "But I doubt she'll ever actually want to talk, she's pretty resentful toward you as well."

"As she just sorta proved to me..." Lilliana sighs, head drooping some... "It's fine... I have a few others to talk to anyway..."

Kanaya nods slowly, reaching her arm out and gently patting Lilliana's head, "Stay calm, Lilliana, everything's gonna be alright. We'll all be out of here in no time."

Lilliana nods slowly, "I-I hope so..."

The trio of mons give Lilliana their short goodbyes before leaving, Lilliana left alone. She lets out a deep breath, turning around and walking forward, only to find herself suddenly bumping into a large form!

Lilliana lets out a loud shriek at this suddenness, leaping back quickly and looking up, seeing the face of...

... Timaeus...

He lets out a short grin and a little laughter, "Hah, I can get you guys even when I don't try."

Lilliana blushes and looks away, embarrassed after being so easily scared, "E-Er, H-Hey Timaeus..."

Timaeus nods, leaning his head down closer to Lilliana, "Ya know, I've been following Tana today..."

 _Wait... What?_

Lilliana tilts her head, "You've been... Following Tana..."

"Yeah," He responds, "Tana and her little clique... And I have to say..." He pauses for a moment, looking back to her door, "If anyones thinking of commiting murder... It's her..."

"W-What?" Lilliana's eyes quickly widen, "W-Wait, why?"

Timaeus just shakes his head, "Can't say," And without another word, he just raises back up, turns, and walks off, leaving Lilliana just as the three females had left her only a minute before...

Lilliana sighs...

 _Damnit... This whole day has just been more and more questions..._

She lets out a little whimper to herself, turning and heading back to her room...

* * *

The first thing Lilliana does when she gets back into her room is head toward her bathroom to shower, stopping as she notices a plaque beside the door to her bathroom, one she had never noticed before...

 **'ATTENTION:**

 **LET IT BE KNOWN THAT WHEN NIGHTTIME HITS, THE WATER TO THE BUILDINGS WILL BE TURNED OFF TO SAVE MONEY.**

 **PLEASE USE THIS KNOWLEDGE ACCORDINGLY'**

 _Was this plaque here yesterday...? I don't think so..._

Lilliana just shrugs it off, now knowing the information and stepping in.

She takes a quick shower, but midway through...

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **BONG BING DONG DING**

 **AHEM! THIS IS A SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **IT IS NOW OFFICIALLY NIGHT TIME!**

 **THE DOORS TO THE CAFETERIA, LAUNDRY ROOM, AND TRASH ROOM WILL ALL BE LOCKED AND ENTRY WILL BE STRICTLY PROHIBITED ANYTIME AFTERWARD!**

 **SLEEP TIGHT EVERYONE! MAKE SURE YOU'VE LOCKED YOUR DOORS, UNLESS YOU WANT A KNIFE IN YOUR THROAT!**

Lilliana sighs, and suddenly, the shower water turns off, it stops pouring out of the shower head...

Lilliana whines as this happens, her fur coated in shampoo... She had to try and wipe everything off with her towel before finishing off for the night, sighing and stepping out of the bathroom...

After the rough day, Lilliana lies down in bed, shutting her eyes tight.

Lilliana fell asleep with hope that tonight will be the last night she would be sleeping in this terrible school.

* * *

 **MONOKUME THEATER #2**

 **PUHUHU, AN EARLY MORNING UP OF TEA IS ALWAYS WELL APPRECIATED**

 **IF IT'S THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE THAT IS, WOULDN'T WANT IT TOO HOT OR TOO COLD**

 **IF IT'S JUST RIGHT, IT'S ALWAYS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE DAY STARTED**

 **ESPECIALLY IF IT'S NOT CAFFEINATED LIKE THE STUPID FRAPIMOCACHINOS ALL THOSE KIDS SPEND TEN BUCKS A DAY ON**

 **IT'S ALWAYS NICE ENJOYING IT IN PEACE AND QUIET**

 **EVEN IF IT'S LOUD, YOU HAVE YOUR SOLUTION IN YOUR HANDS**

 **DUMP YOUR TEA ON YOUR PROBLEM**

 **PUHUHU**

* * *

 _Woohoo, finally guys!_

 _It's been a long time, but guys, it's finally here, and I really do hope you enjoyed it!_

 _Our original plan was to upload everything by chapter separations, like chapter 1 daily life, chapter 1 deadly life, chapter 1 class trial, etc, but we decided that was taking too long._

 _After scrapping a good 60% of this when we were almost finished (yeah we did that, as we felt we weren't properly representing the characters) we decided to change the way we would do things._

 _From now on, we'll upload by each separate day. The only time this will be ignored is class trials, as they'll get their own separate chapters._

 _Anyways, again, we hope you enjoyed!_


	4. CH1 Day 3 - A Cruel Mistress

**DANGANPOKE**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **A CRUEL MISTRESS**

 _ **DAILY LIFE - DAY 3**_

* * *

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **BONG BING DONG DING**

Lilliana sturred some in bed due to the sound of the school bells ringing, and her eyes opened up, peering toward the monitor which had just turned on.

Monokuma sat down same as last night, leaning back in a desk chair, legs kicked up over the desk.

 **AHEM! THIS IS A SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **RISE AND SHINE EVERYONE, IT'S NOW 7 AM, WHICH MEANS NIGHT TIME IS OFFICIALLY OVER!**

 **HOPE YOU GOT A GOOD SLEEP BECAUSE IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY OUTSIDE!**

At those words, Lilliana couldn't help but grumble, watching as the monitor fizzled back into static. She lets off a low yawn, rolling onto her gut and pushing into a stand, giving herself a nice long minute or so to stretch herself out~

After her stretch, she turned and hopped off the bed, looking down to the ground...

 _Still here... If this is a nightmare of some sort, please, just let it end..._

 _If not, then please, please let us find a way out..._

Lilliana gives off a low, saddened sigh, raising her head back up and starting to walk toward the door.

 _Okay, Lill's... Don't get depressed... Today is just another day to fix this, to find a way out so all sixteen of us get out of this unharmed._

Reaching her paw out, Lilliana grasps the door handle, slowly starting to twist it.

 _Alright, remember what needs to get done today. Need to talk to the mons who left the meet-up after Ishtar's blow up... Lucas, Salvador, and Tana._

 _It wouldn't hurt to talk to Timaeus too at some point... I'd like to know why he thinks Tana would commit murder..._

 _Hmm... And Libby wanted to talk to me about something before Ishtar dragged me off. Would be nice to know what that is._

With another low sigh, Lilliana finally pulls the door open and steps outside. After closing the door behind her, she looks around, seeing a few of the others making their way toward the cafeteria. Ishtar was back there again, taking roll call...

 _Who should I speak to first..._

Lilliana thinks to herself as she looks around, not spotting any of the mons she had wished to speak with.

 _That would've been way too easy, huh?_

She sighs, deciding to just go with the mon who's dorm was nearest. That would be the dorm right next to her, owned by Lucas, "There, decisions made..." She mumbles lowly to herself, padding her way up to the door and giving it a few soft knocks.

It takes only a few short moments before the door opens up, and the Lucario stands in front of her, taller than her, and having to look down to match her eye contact.

"Ah, Lilliana. Is there a problem?"

"Hey, Lucas. Er, no not really. I was just wondering if, uh, you'd like to come have some breakfast with me this morning?"

Lucas tilts his head, "Interesting request... Why?"

"Well, I just haven't really gotten to talk to you one on one. I was thinking maybe we could have a nice breakfast and learn a bit more about each other?"

"Hmm..." Lucas starts to think for a moment, taking just a few short seconds before responding, "Alright. Under one condition."

"What condition?"

"Simple really. I will only answer your questions depending on if I feel like answering them, or if they're good questions. If you have no good questions then you won't hear a word come out of my mouth while seated at that table."

Lilliana nods, "Alright, yeah, that seems reasonable."

"Okay then," Lucas says, stepping out of his room and shutting the door behind him, "Let's go eat."

Lilliana nods, and the two mons turn and walk in the direction of the cafeteria. When passing through the doorway, Ishtar gives just a seconds gaze toward Lilliana and Lucas, before marking the two off as present and saying nothing more in regard to the matter.

Lucas follows Lilliana as she leads him to a table, leaping up onto a chair and sitting down, as Lucas continues to stand beside the table. Lilliana tilts her head in confusion, "Aren't you gonna sit down?"

Lucas just blinks, saying nothing.

 _Oh right..._

Lilliana sighs, "Right, the agreement."

Without saying another word, Lucas turns towards the kitchen and starts to make her way towards it. Lilliana watches as he does so.

 _Ah, that's probably why he sat down. No use sitting if he's gonna have to get back up immediately to prepare some food for himself._

Lilliana clambers back out of her seat, letting out a low grunt as her paws connect with the floor, and she follows behind him into the kitchen.

Lucas ends up preparing a simple bowl of cereal, whilst Lilliana heats up some frozen pancakes in the microwave, plating them with a few grapes and some maple syrup. It's only ten minutes before both mons are seen back at the table, now actually dining.

Though, Lilliana hasn't touched her food yet, "So, er... How was your day yesterday?"

No response...

"Er... Okay then... How about, uh... What do you think about this situation we're in?"

Once more, no response...

"Okay..."

Not thinking she'd get a response for a little bit longer, Lilliana focuses back to her food and starts to chow down. It takes her about five minutes to go through half of her plate, before watching as Lucas had gotten up with a now empty bowl to wash it out.

He disappears into the kitchen for a minute or so before coming out. However... He doesn't start walking back to the table, making his way toward the door to exit instead.

Seeing this makes Lilliana go a bit wide-eyed, "W-Wait, Lucas!" She shouts, leaping off her chair and quickly padding up to Lucas, who had stopped for a brief moment to look in her direction.

"One last question, uh..." She takes a second to think, before letting one of the first things on her mind spill from her maw, "Why do you think we're here?"

Lucas is silent...

Lilliana takes this silence as no answer coming from the Lucario, letting out another sigh before...

Lucas speaks up, "If we're here, it's for a reason. Whether that reason is to survive, or die, or kill the bear so nothing like this happens again, it doesn't matter which reason is the reason we're here."

"All that matters is that we are all here for a reason. The reason may vary mon to mon, but it's still why we're here."

After those words, he turns and starts to walk off, Lilliana watching... With a low smile.

"Thank you for answering," She calls out to him, though it's not long before he's left the cafeteria, vanishing behind the doors, as if he had never eaten here this morning.

Lilliana turned and sat back in her chair, continuing to eat.

 _Not how I would've liked that to go down, but, at least it was something. It was some progress._

She resumes digging into her pancakes until complete, letting off a satisfied sigh once finished. She took a few moments to simply look around in the cafeteria. In a school, the cafeteria should have life. Beautiful, shimmering life. Yet the cafeteria felt dreadfully dull as if the walls were just the tiniest bit grayer than they had been the day prior.

Some mons like Jon and Glenn were talking, though it was much more Jon talking and Glenn listening.

 _More like, "listening"_

No matter how the actions were interpreted, there was still a feeling of dread and despair throughout the room. Even with how friendly Jon was, his voice spoke as if it held back some of what could be a large mass of happiness. As much as somemon could try to hide away their despair, it was hard to do so when faced in such a difficult place.

A school, meant for the youth of communities to grow and develop, being used for a killing game. It purposely mixed childhood memories of happy times at school, with the waking realization that death could come at any moment. A place once seen as safety for some, now the shadow of such a thought, its dark replica.

Lilliana couldn't take much more of the despaired feelings, pushing away from her table and gathering up her plate, heading to the kitchen and washing it off in the sink.

Once finished, she turns to leave, but spots a little shadow in the far corner of the room, atop a cabinet. The shadow had somewhat of a grey hue...

Not seconds later, the shadow pushes off the cabinet, gliding downward and landing with a slide on the floor, stopping right in front of Lilliana. The mon before her was Archimedes, the Gliscor.

"Ahh Lilliana returned to my side once more~"

 _Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh..._

"Hi, Archimedes."

"Listen Lilliana, I need a favor," He takes a second to pause as if waiting for a response. Though once Lilliana opens her maw to speak up, she's quickly interrupted by his voice piercing through her ears once more, "You're going to your library meetup again, right? Let me come with you this time. Studying up on history is always a good way to discover who's behind all this!"

"How did you know about that?"

"Everyone knows, Lilliana," He lets off an amused huff, "Wasn't really kept all that secret, it was even spread some more by the Zorua, Zachary. He'd make an amazing conspiracist, his attention to details and how dedicated he is to search through every last word."

"Er... Alright then."

"So, you'll let me join in, yeah?

"Well, I mean, if you really want to. We could definitely use the help, six mons combing through that entire selection would take months."

"Not permanently, Lilliana," He states, patting the Espeon's side just a moment, letting off a small chuckle, "Just for today. As much as I'd enjoy looking day by day, I'm only interested in searching for a certain selection. I'd rather not say what just yet."

"Alright then..." She nods her head slowly, "So, you're in for today then?"

"Yes," He nods back, "I'll follow you."

"You don't know how to get there yourself?"

"Of course I do! Though in this mon kill mon situation, it's best to stay together, yeah?"

 _At least he's making some sense..._

"That's some pretty sound logic," Lilliana lets off a small smile, "Alright, come on then."

Lilliana guides Archimedes out of the kitchen and cafeteria, through the halls and toward the library.

* * *

Upon arrival, Lilliana is quickly greeted by the sight of Zachary up on his hind legs reaching to grab up the next book he has to read. Lilliana lets out a small chuckle at the sight, which catches the Zorua's attention, ears flicking a bit as he turns his head.

The bottom three shelves are empty by this point, and there were a few stacks of books rising up from the floor. However, the books stacking up didn't seem like they'd be enough for what Zachary's covered... It's like he's missing about a shelf or so of books.

"Hello Lilliana, you're ready to continue searching?"

"Yeah, I am. It looks like you're missing a lot of books," Lillaina points out.

In response, Zachary lets out a small nod, turning his head back to grab at his next book, paws gripping at the trim and finally pulling it down with a low grunt! "Hmmph, yeah..." He pushes down to the floor, setting the book down and flicking it open to the first page, "I brought the entire second row to my room last night, kept on reading."

"Woah, that's a lot of reading... When did you get to sleep?"

"10pm."

"Ah, so around night time?"

"Yes, nighttime. About 34 or so hours ago."

To this, Lilliana's eyes sprang wide, "Wait, you didn't sleep at all last night?"

"He has a commitment," Archimedes suddenly speaks up, stepping his way close to Zachary and taking a glance down at what he had started reading through, "He's making sure there's a chance for escape so that everyone can leave, and he's willing to forgo sleep to find out. That's some dedication!"

"Thank you," Zachary nods, "Lilliana, you can go continue over in the same corner as before, and if Archimedes here is with you, he can help you out there, I guess."

Lilliana gives a nod, "Alright, sounds good," She turns to start walking back to where she was stationed a majority of her day yesterday...

Only to get one last call out from Zachary, "Oh, one last thing. Have you seen Libby?"

"Huh?" The Espeon stopped dead in her tracks, "Libby isn't here yet?"

"No, she isn't."

"Hmm... Now that I think about it, she wasn't back in the cafeteria when I was eating breakfast."

"Hmm..." Zachary shrugged, "She'll likely get here soon. No need to worry unless she's missing all day."

"That's true, probably just off exploring," Lilliana sighs, mostly relief though somewhat in nerves...

 _As much as I'm sure no one would do that... I'm a bit nervous someone may have... I hope to Arceus not..._

She continues to make her way toward her area, grabbing up the next book along the shelf of progress she's already made. Archimedes watches as she opens it up with her psychic and starts to flick through it, skimming.

"You're scared someone offed her, huh?"

"Huh?" Lilliana looked up to Archimedes, shaking her head, "Oh, uh, no. I'm sure no one hurt her."

"I heard it in your sigh. It came off and sounded mostly like relief, but I could sense some worry in there."

"Ah... How'd you know?"

"I'm the ultimate conspiracist!" Archimedes grins, "Of course I'd know! It's easy for me to discern speech as someone hiding something, most mons have the same instincts in speaking, and your nerves were very easy to feel~ I wouldn't be surprised if someone else got the impression you were nervous."

"Look, I'd rather not talk about it."

He shrugs, "Alright then. I'll get to looking for what I want."

The Gliscor spreads his wings out and launches himself up into the air, hovering over a certain section and starting to look through. Lilliana didn't think too much of it, until after a few minutes or so of searching, the Gliscor glides back down, landing right in front of Lilliana, grasping two books.

"I have what I want," He said, turning the cover for one of the two books, showing the title... 'Life Ender'

"You wanted Life Ender?" Lilliana questions, tilting her head, "Why?"

"This situation is insanely close to what the main conflict in 'Life Ender' is, 10 pokemon are trapped in a school, and only one can survive. I was thinking to read through this, see how similar they are. If they're the same thing, then I may have some thoughts on who has us trapped here."

Lilliana nods slowly, "Ahh, alright. What's the other book?" She says, gesturing a paw toward the other one.

At being asked that question, Archimedes lets off a small huff, turning the book around to show the cover and title... 'Tales Of Company Failures - How One Gliscor Works To Save Us All'

"Wait, there's a book about you?"

"Yes, there is," He nods, grinning somewhat, "Shows you just how successful I am with my conspiracies~" He tosses the book down onto Lilliana's room, "Give it a look through sometime, your first homework assignment."

"Er... Homework assignment?" Lilliana looked confused as ever at hearing those words...

"Well, I won't live forever, I'll have to teach someone my practices."

"How old even are you?"

"Sixteen," He remarks, "I know, pretty late to be teaching how I work."

"I'm older than you are!"

"In a conspiracists life... There lucky to live five months after exposing any sort of huge company. I'm just one of few who's survived ten years."

Those words made Lilliana even further dumbfounded at what Archimedes had to say, "You first exposed a company at the age of 6?"

"All in the book," He huffs, "Read it during your off time, wouldn't want you jeopardizing out lives."

Without so much as another word, Lilliana watches as Archimedes pushes off the ground and glides out of the library... Still looking insanely confused on the situation, looking down toward the book...

 _He's... Weird._

Lilliana sets the book off to the side before getting back to her skimming through of books, picking up the one she had just started on and skimmed through, page after page. That eventually turned into book by book, which eventually turned into shelf by shelf.

She continued for much less time than previously, cutting the 11 hours down to 9 this time, working off two shelves just as she had done yesterday, since she had been getting used to the skimming a bit more and her process was set in stone.

It was around 5pm now, still a few hours until nighttime. She closed a book she had just finished skimming through and setting it to the side, giving an exhausted smile as she turned back and looked over her progress, just finishing all of the books on the fourth shelf.

With a small smile, she pushes up to a stand and stretches out.

 _Mmmmph, barely moving for nine hours really gets your muscles stiff... I guess that is what happens when you sleep for a while, huh?_

Speaking of sleep, Lilliana let off a little yawn, a bit tired after going through all those many books. After stretching for a few minutes, she starts to walk off, before stopping herself.

 _Am I forgetting something?_

She turns her head and looks back around, seeing the book Archimedes had lent her.

 _Ah, right._

The gem on her forehead glows brightly, as an aura of the same color, purple, surrounds the book and lifts it up off the ground. Carrying the book with her psychic, Lilliana turns once more and starts to head toward the exit.

"See you again tomorrow for more book club, Zachary."

"Yeah yeah," He replies, yawning somewhat himself, "See you tomorrow."

Lilliana nods her head, leaving the library just as she had done only 22 hours previous.

* * *

Lilliana made her way back to the dorm rooms, and after dropping the book based on Archimedes off in her room, she thought to herself...

 _Who to talk to now...?_

 _Hmm..._

 _Er, maybe Salvador, I guess?_

With that being said, Lilliana steps away from her dorm once more, making her way down the long hall of dorms and looking at each door to find Salvadors, finding him at the end of the hall, on the same side as her own door.

With a low sigh, Lilliana knocks on the door a couple of times.

After about a minute or so of waiting, the mon on the other side, presumably Salvador, starts to unlock the door, evidenced by the door shaking a little bit, and he opens it up.

The moment the Jangmo-o lays eyes on Lilliana, he glares and says one word, "Nooooohhh!"

"Wait, Sa-"

Salvador slams the door hard in Lilliana's face, quickly locking it back up.

Lilliana lets out a small sigh after this happened, ears lowering a bit.

 _Damn... That was rough. I may have to try again some other time._

Lilliana turns around to start walking awa-

The loudspeaker suddenly cues up to life throughout the school building, and Monokuma's voice rings through it.

 **AHEM! ATTENTION STUDENTS!**

 **PLEASE MEET AT THE AUDITORIUM FOR A VERY IMPORTANT STUDENT ASSEMBLY!**

 **LACK OF ATTENDANCE MAY MEAN LOSING WHAT'S ON THE LINE!**

 **THAT IS ALL!**

The loudspeaker fades back to silence, and Lilliana lets off a low sigh...

"Oh Arceus, what could this mean," She thought out loud to herself, "Guess I better head there..."

Without much resistance, Lilliana makes her way toward the auditorium, as directed by principal deathbear himself.

* * *

Upon arrival, she sees most of her other trapped companions alongside her, with a few missing. Salvador and Libby were nowhere to be seen. That was at least until Salvador entered a minute or so after the Espeon.

Rather than look for someone to sit with, Lilliana instead sat to one of the closest seats to the exit, leaving a seat open beside her for Libby for when she would eventually arrive.

Among the seats, all that's heard is slight chatter about what may be happening... Other than that, silence.

Monokuma had yet to arrive.

This silence lasts for about five minutes, before Salvador exclaims in annoyance from his seat, "Is the fucking bear gonna get here anytime soon?!"

 **"AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO..."**

The auditorium dims darker, a set of stage lights on the roof flicking on and aiming toward center stage...

 **"THE ARCHITECT OF ASSASSINATION, THE EVILDOER OF EXECUTION, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE PRINCIPAL TO END ALL PRINCIPALS!"**

The half-black half-white bear leaps up quickly from the sheeted table on stage once more, rocketing into the sky before quickly falling back down, landing on his two feet and striking a pose, sticking one foot out in front of him, raising one of his paws up toward his head, resting it on its side, and the other extended outward, directed toward the crowd of 15.

 **"ME! MONOKUMA!"**

Silence...

Monokuma drops the pose, rolling his eyes and plopping down onto his tush.

 **"Geez, tough crowd."**

"What, did you think you could amuse us?!" Ishtar is the first to interrupt Monokuma's little performance, and it's not long before Tana follows suit.

"Yeah, who the hell do you think you are? Locking us up in some shitty school and trying to get us to kill each other!"

 **"Bluebun were you not paying attention to my introduction?"**

"Oh just get to the fucking point!"

 **"Oh, trust me, I will~ However, we're short one head, and I've unfortunately confirmed it isn't sliced off!"**

Hearing this, Lilliana can't help but smile a little, "So Libby isn't dead then?!"

 **"Unfortunately yes, though wherever she may be, my camera's aren't picking her up!"**

"She may have escaped," Zachary brings up in thought.

"And didn't tell us how to? Oh if that's the case then I'm pissed..." Ishtar grumbles to herself.

"Hey, if she's out, then good for her! She managed to get lucky!" Jon chuckles to himself, "Which means it'll be no time at all before I get lucky and find our escape route!"

 **"Oh trust me, there's no way to escape. There's no way out. She's in here somewhere. Though it's rather rude that she hasn't shown up! I spent hours preparing for this, for sixteen students to see, and one of them didn't even bother to show their face!"**

Monokuma's red eye grows a bit redder, and out of one paw, claws poke out.

 **"Ohh if that little brat comes in late I'll show her how important being on time is!"**

"Can you just tell us why we're here already?" Lucas asks from his seat, arms folded, "I'd like to get back to training."

"Yes, and I'm still reading quite a bit, and this interruption isn't helping me find any answers," Zachary points out now.

Right beside the Zorua, Rosalie pokes one of his paws a little, "Weren't we trying to keep that secret from him?"

"He has ca-"

 **"Oh please, I have camera's all over the place, nothing's kept secret from me!"**

"Except for Libby's location," Timaeus interjects, the tiniest bit of a grim forming on his face.

 **"Oh shut it!"**

"Please just get to the point," Glenn brings up next, rolling his eyes a bit, "We're not getting any younger."

 **"Fine, Fine!"**

 ***Mumbling "Lousy fucks..." Mumbling***

 **"Frankly, I'm getting bored! Suuure, it's only your third day, but I crave excitement! I crave kills and despair, and you can't even bother to deliver on either! So, I'm injecting this killing game with a little dose of roids!"**

 **"I've been thinking why no ones wanting to murder each other, but then it clicked!"**

 **"Aside from escape, no one has any real reason to!"**

 **"So that's what this asembly is going to introduce!"**

 **"A MOTIVE FOR MURDER!"**

"As if anyone's gonna murder over some stupid motive!" Tana lets out a little growl...

"Motives are a very serious issue, bear! Motives are much more personal than anything else, so unless this motive personally hits each and every one of us, there's no way anyone will see it as a reason to murder!" Ishtar loudly explains the thought of the motive, even giving off a smug grin after, "So just fucking try us! We'll all abide by the law and assure no one gets hurt by you!"

 **"Oh big tits, I think you underestimate how much pokemon want things... New things, old things, any things really, as long as it's theirs... That's where my thought process with this new motive comes into play!"**

 **"If one of you murders in the next 24 hours, and gets away with it, you'll be entitled to three things you've always wanted! Keeping in mind, this can be monetary or possessionary, you cannot ask for any impossibilities like bringing someone back to life! Though I'd sure enjoy trying to bringing zombies to everyones daily lives!"**

"Oh my, extremely vague motive! No one would fall for a motive as vague and plain as that!" Ishtar whirrs out in defense against the motive, "This'll be simple enough to ignore!"

Timaeus gives a little look to Tana... She's already looking around at some of the others a bit...

"This proves it!" Archimedes suddenly shouts, gaining everyones attention, "The mons behind this can give any three possessions to us, they have to be loaded! This has to be the doing of a big corporation, or even multiple corporations!"

"If that's the case, then once we get out of here, we'll have enough proof to legally take them down!" Ishtar responds, "So if that is true, we have to stay strong and ignore killing anyone!"

 **"Oohoohoo, I suggest you get to murdering soon though! Because if 24 hours passes, well, lets just say..."**

 **"Something shocking will occur!"**

 **"Ta Ta For Now!"**

Howling his iconic laugh, Monokuma jumps up into the air, and back behind the table, disappearing once more. Just like on the first day, this action inspires Ishtar to rush from her seat and onto the stage to look behind the table...

"Damnit! How the hell does he leave from here!?" Ishtar groans out in annoyance, raising her head back and looking to the others, "Listen, guys, there's no way we're letting this bear beat us! We are stronger, we will hold back any possible urges, and we won't kill anyone!"

"What makes you say that?" Tana suddenly inquires, "Anyone could betray us at any moment! We need to trust in the people close to us, and ignore anyone else!"

"Pipe down Tana, this is very important!"

"Ah, yes, of course you'd consider yourself speaking more important than anyone else," She grumbles a little, standing up from her chair, "Come on guys," She says, pulling Ruby, Kanaya, and Poppy along with her as they leave...

Ishtar seems to be shaking a bit, watching as the disrespectful Tana makes her way out... Lilliana notices this anger rises, and her gem starts to glow... Lilliana uses telepathy to speak to Ishtar through her mind.

 _"Ishtar, calm down, please. I'm gonna try and talk to her again later tonight or early tomorrow, I will try and get her to start listening to you more..."_

"Are you invading my mind without consent?!" Ishtar whisper-yells, trying to be quiet.

 _"I'm only doing it this once. Please Ishtar, calm down..."_

Ishtar lets out a low grumble, looking around at the others... "Just, don't kill anyone, okay? Or else you'll have me to deal with."

Ishtar pushes the table to the side a bit and walks off stage, looking clearly annoyed. As other mons start to make their way out of the auditorium, Lilliana catches sight of Salvador. Her gem no longer growing, the Espeon quickly gets up out of her seat and dashes down toward the Jangmo-o, blocking him from exiting.

"Can you fucking move?"

"Salvador, please, just give me a-"

"I said, can you fucking move?!" He growls, trying to step to the side to pass Lilliana, but she side steps into his way. He growls a little louder, crouching down this time to under her, but the Espeon is quick, lowering her frame downward toward the ground. He huffs out in annoyance, "Fine, what the fuck do you want?"

"Can you please just give me the chance to talk? We've barely spoken since we first got here, and our first conversation wasn't necessarily good."

"Why should I?"

"Because, the more people you talk to, the more likely you're in the loop about getting out of here."

"And?"

"The more likely you aren't to be forgotten."

Salvador glares to Lilliana as she continues talking, "Just, lets eat dinner together, have a little conversation. Nothing too much."

"..."

"Please."

"Fine," He rolls his eyes, "Fine fine fine, I'll fucking go with you."

At hearing the news, Lilliana gives a small smile, "Thank you."

"You get half an hour."

"That's all I need," She says, turning around and letting Salvador walk up beside her, the two mons exiting the auditorium and making their way back toward the cafeteria.

* * *

Lilliana and Salvador were walking side by side together throughout the long, lonely hallways of the school, making their way toward the cafeteria. As they grew closer to the 'T' Intersection that divided school side, dorm side, and trial side, Salvador had gotten a bit curious.

"Why the hell did you want to talk to me anyway?"

Lilliana sighs, "I was just wanting to know how you were feeling, if you were doing well or not, what you think of some of the others, some other stuff. I want to get to know you a little better."

"Just me?" He asks, tilting his head, "Or are you doing this with everyone?"

"Well... I'm doing this with everyone, but you're part of everyone, aren't you? Plus, I've been really interested in talking to you."

"Okay, well there's no need to wait," Salvador rolls his eyes, "If we're gonna talk in the cafeteria yet be silent on the way, why not just start fucking talking on the way?"

 _Rude..._

"Okay then... Er... Well, first off, uh... Why don't you play basketball anymore?"

"I'm not answering that."

She nods slowly, "Okay, uh... How uh..."

"Just spit out out!" He rushes Lilliana, grumbling a little to himself after in annoyance.

"Okay okay... How do you feel about Ishtar?"

"Bitch. Next question."

"Er... Do you possibly have any ideas how we could get out?"

"I'm about as blind to this shit as you are."

"Okay..." Lilliana seemed to be getting a little nervous as she thinks of the next one, "E-Er... W-What do you th-think about this situation?"

"It's a waste of time," Salvador stops once they enter the dorm side hall, glaring, "Just like this fucking conversation. Just give me one half decent fucking question for once, damn..."

Lilliana stops as well, turning around, "Sorry, sorry..."

"It seems like you wanted to talk to me but have no decent topics to talk about. That's fucking boring."

She nods slowly in response...

"Next time you try and talk to me, have some important questions ready, dipshit," The Jangmo-o turns to his side, starting to walk back toward his room.

Lilliana watches as he does this, though follows behind him quickly, "S-Salvador, wait!"

He pulls open his door and steps inside, slamming the door right in Lilliana's face...

Lilliana lets out a soft, upset sigh as this happens...

She stays to herself for a few moments, left alone now in the hall, before turning around. She finds the form of another, much larger mon right behind her, and lets out a loud yelp, jumping back, slamming against the door!

Before her, Timaeus hovered, letting out a small, plain laugh at her fright, "Heh, you should've seen your face."

Immediately, Lilliana's frightened demeanor drops and calms a bit, and she lets off a sigh of relief, "D-Damn Timaeus, why do you always have to scare me?"

"It's fun," He lets off a small grin, "Regardless, I came for a reason. Kanaya wants to see you."

"Huh, Kanaya?" Lilliana asks, pushing away from the door and tilting her head, "Any idea why?"

"Yes, I do know. But you should probably find out from her. She's in Tana's room, you're free to knock."

"Er... Okay..." Lilliana nods, looking down at the ground for a moment, "Hey er, by the way Timaeus, I had a couple of-" The Espeon looks up, seeing that the Hydreigon was no longer in front of her...

 _Well, that's weird... Er... Should probably see what Kanaya was wanting_

Shaken up a bit still from the very sudden jumpscare, mixed with the events that had just previously transpired with Salvador, Lilliana makes her way toward the door that leads into Tana's room, giving a few small knocks on it.

The door opens not even ten seconds later, and the Gardevoir Kanaya opens it up, smiling to the Espeon, "Ah, hello Lilliana," She speaks, stepping out of the room and gently closing the door behind her.

"Hey Kanaya, you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, I did," She nods, "Listen, I convinced Tana to give you another chance!"

"Wait, really?" Lilliana's eyes go wide, giving a small smile, "How so?"

"Well, it wasn't easy. I had to use a bit of, er..." The Gardevoir starts to blush a bit, "Well... 'Persuasion' tactics, if you understand what I mean, psychic to psychic wise."

Lilliana frowns at that, nodding slowly, "Ah... She resented me that badly?"

"She can get relatively stubborn at times. It's no matter now though, she's giving you another chance!"

"Alright... Thank you, Kanaya. This does mean a lot to me. I'm just trying to bring everyone as close together as possible to prevent anything from happening."

"I share that desire," She smiles, "Anyways, we should probably head back in. Though I warn you, we are doing a sleepover and if things work out, she may want you to join in."

Hearing that, Lilliana also gave back a little smile, blushing somewhat too, "Well, hopefully things work out then, heheh."

Kanaya turns the knob to start opening the door back up, and the two mons step inside...

* * *

Stepping into Tana's room for the first time was a pretty interesting sight to behold. Kanaya closed the door as Lilliana looked through the bright room. The walls were all a light blue, with various gold and black art styles of rings, paws, and one main point over Tana's bed, the sight of a large Shinx design, eyes closed. These rooms were meant to represent the owners' ultimate talent, and with Tana being the ultimate popularity magnet, it meant everything was about her, and this room showed for it.

Inside the room though, only Ruby could be seen, sitting down on the bed, with black comforters. She turned her head as Kanaya and Lilliana entered the room, giving a small wave.

"Hey," Ruby greeted.

"Hello," Lilliana replied, taking a few steps closer, deeper into the room, "Er, where's Tana?"

"Poppy's grooming her fur," Ruby states, rolling her eyes.

"Ah, okay," Lilliana gives a small nod, continuing to look around at the walls a little more. The Shinx designs were very eye-catching, one of the most notable things in the room. She shook her head to try and pull her mind from the designs though, padding up toward Ruby and sitting down, with Kanaya making her way over into the bathroom to check on Tana and Poppy.

"So, how are you Ruby?"

"Eh," She shrugs, "Could be better."

"You're the ultimate graffiti artist, right? What's that like?"

Ruby seemed a bit confused, tilting her head, "Why do you wanna know?"

"Because I'm curious," Lilliana responds, smiling, "Should I not be?"

"Eh..." Ruby lets off a small sigh, "Being the ultimate graffiti artist is pretty cool, I guess. I get to go around and do as I please with my art. In the early days I'd be constantly chased by the cops, but now, if my art pops up in any town, it's considered a gift. It's weird, mons go crazy for what I put out there."

"Heheh, well, mons go crazy for talent. I can relate to that being the ultimate musician and all, but I can't necessarily relate to being chased by the cops when I was a rising star."

"Well, music is legal, graffiti is not."

"Unless you're in pawloose," Lilliana jokes, letting off a small chuckle, "Then music is considered a killable offense!"

With the joke, Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a little too, joking back, "Hah, yeah that was quite the psychological horror. When Ren was in the shower singing and the killer pulled open the blinds, that scene was timeless!"

With the joke launched back her way, Lilliana laughed a little more, "Heheh, something tells me you're mixing two completely different movies up a little bit~"

"Nah, they're the same movie~" Ruby jokes, smiling a little more, "Heh, ya know, it's good to share a little bit about myself, finally."

"You haven't gotten the chance to yet?"

"Eh, there's one thing about this group you gotta understand. It's Tana Tana Tana, All Tana Everything, really. She's kinda the main attraction of our group, and Kanaya, Poppy and I are just kinda her friends."

Lilliana gives a small look of concern, "That... Seems kinda bad, doesn't it?"

"Eh, I'm fine with it. I don't have much of a reason to share stuff about myself anyway," Ruby shrugs, "Regardless, we are friends now, so I'd do anything for her."

"I understand," Lilliana nods, "Friendship is everything this day and age."

"Especially with how things are in here," Ruby states, "I'm glad you can understand. Some of the others are wondering why I'm even with Tana, our personalities are relatively different."

"I can kind of see where they're coming from, but still. Personalities don't have to be the same for people to be friends with each other."

"Otherwise it'd be easy to make friends," Ruby jokes a little, "It'd be so easy to find out who has the same interests and way of thinking as you do."

"Very true," Lilliana smiles, "I'm glad we could have this talk."

"Same," Ruby nods, and not too long after, pawsteps could be heard coming from the bathroom.

Tana turns, watching as Tana is first to make her way out, swaying some side to side to make herself look a little more important, as Poppy and Kanaya simply exit behind her with no special form to how they look upon exiting. The Shinx is wearing a new bowtie, bright yellow. Tana looks back to Poppy a second, "Thanks hun for the grooming."

Poppy nods, wearing a bright smile, "It's no problem!"

 _Er... She was groomed? She looks exactly the same as last time I saw her, at the auditorium... Aside from the bow she's wearing..._

"Hello Tana," Lilliana exclaims, raising a paw and giving a small wave.

Tana smiles at this, "Hello to you too, Lilliana~" She smiles, "You may have already heard I'm wanting to give you a second chance, yes?"

"Yes, I heard, and I'm really happy to hear that you want to!" Lilliana smiles.

"Well Lilliana, I just couldn't help but think over it some more, and realized..." Tana takes a few steps closer, raising one of her paws up and resting it on Lilliana's chest. Tana was easily a little less than half of Lilliana's size, so that paw had gone up just barely over her head, "You may have some potential~"

"Potential?" Lilliana tilts her head, and to this, Tana nods.

"Yes, Potential."

"Er... Well, if you want this potential, I may need a little something out of you."

Hearing that, Tana pulls her paw away, taking a step back and rolling her eyes, "That would depend on what it is, and if I want anything in return."

"Do you want anything in return?"

"Who do you think I am? Of course I want something in return!"

Lilliana sighs, "Look, what I want is pretty simple. I just want you to start trying to be a little nicer to everyone else, a little calmer. You're pretty jumpy and accusatory very often..."

"Hmm... And why on earth would I do that?"

"Er..." Lilliana looks around to the others, "So more people trust you. So more people like you, and you can get a bigger posse."

"They're no posse, we're simply friends," Tana exclaims, shaking her head and turning away, "This is honestly a stupid ask Lilliana, there's no way I would accept that."

Hearing that, Lilliana lets off another low sigh, looking downward... "That is," Tana speaks back up again, Lilliana's head perking up, "Unless I had something from you."

"What would you even want?"

"You're the Ultimate Musician Lilliana! I want a song, based on me, tonight!"

The Espeon's eyes go wide, "W-Wait, tonight?"

"Yes yes, tonight."

"B-But, that's not enough time!"

"Well, perhaps if you're in here with us it may be. We can spit ideas off of each other, and you could create the perfect song to my liking!"

"Er... I-I mean, uh..." Lilliana thinks a moment, before giving in, "Alright, we can work together to create a song, tonight."

Immediately, Tana lets off a little grin, "Alright, and once the songs finished, I'll start trying to be a little nicer to others. Keyword trying."

"I can understand trying," Lilliana nods, "I don't expect a complete 180 overnight."

"Oh, whatever, lets just start writing!"

"Yeah!" Kanaya, Ruby, and Poppy all cheer, and afterward the three and Tana chuckle. The sight alone was enough to make Lilliana smile, that some mons had some hope in them.

The next few hours persist, even past nighttime at 10, with the four mons helping Lilliana in creating the perfect song for Tana! Come around 2am though, the song is finally finished! And after a small performance, the mons were all content and happy, lying down.

Most were asleep by 2:30, however, a few were still up.

Lilliana lied on the floor on her side, eyes closed as she tried to get some shut-eye... Though suddenly, she had heard whispers...

Her eyes opened, although she was unable to see anyone, as the voices were coming from behind her. The voices weren't clear enough to understand the words being said, though they were clear enough to understand who was speaking. Kanaya and Poppy.

A few minutes of the duo talking without Lilliana being able to understand pass, before the sound of the door slowly opening and closing is heard.

Lilliana hears nothing but the sounds of a mon moving a bit, getting closer and lying back down, though she has no way to tell who this mon is. Reluctantly, Lilliana closes her eyes, and dozes off to dreamland...

* * *

 **MONOKUMA THEATER #3**

 **SLEEPOVERS ARE SOME OF THE FUNNEST TIMES IN CHILDHOOD, AREN'T THEY?**

 **FREEDOM TO STAY UP AS LATE AS YOU PLEASE, WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS!**

 **LAUGHING AT THE FRIEND HOSTING THE PARTY WHEN THEY GET LECTURED BY THEIR PARENTS!**

 **STAYING UP TIL THE SUNLIGHT HOURS WATCHING SCARY MOVIES AND TRYING TO BE QUIET WITH EACH JUMPSCARE!**

 **UNFORTUNATELY, THIS SLEEPOVER JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE IN ONE OF THOSE SCARY MOVIES, SO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!**

 **DEATH, DEATH, AND MORE DEATH!**

 **OH, THE BLOODY DESPAIR THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS GO THROUGH!**

 **STABBED IN YOUR SLEEP! THROWN OFF THE CONVENIENT CLIFF YOUR FRIEND LIVES NEAR!**

 **TOSSED INTO A WOODCHIPPER! SLOWLY GETTING YOUR LIMBS TORN OFF BY THE MASKED PSYCHOPATH!**

 **OHH JUST THINKING ABOUT IT GETS ME EXCITED FOR THE VAST ARRAY OF KILLS WE'LL GET TO WITNESS!**

* * *

 _ **DAILY LIFE - DAY 4**_

* * *

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **BONG BING DONG DING**

The sounds of the bells lift Lilliana up from her sleepy state, just in time for Monokuma's face to appear on the nearby monitor.

Monokuma sat down same as the morning prior, leaning back in a desk chair, legs kicked up over the desk.

 **AHEM! THIS IS A SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **RISE AND SHINE EVERYONE, IT'S NOW 7 AM, WHICH MEANS NIGHT TIME IS OFFICIALLY OVER!**

 **DID EVERYONE SURVIVE THE NIGHT? THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT IS TO GO OUT THERE AND SOCIALIZE**

 **YOU FUCKIN INTROVERTS**

The monitor flickered off into static, and Lilliana gave a small yawn, slowly starting to rise up. She looks around, a little confused at her surroundings, before remembering...

 _Oh, right... Slept in Tana's room last night..._

She can see that Ruby, Kanaya, and Poppy are all only just starting to wake up, also having slept on the floor. Tana remains in her bed though, sound asleep...

 _Ugh... Less than five hours of sleep... Not good... For body..._

She lets out another yawn...

 _Need bed..._

Still tired, Lilliana turns and starts to make her way out of the room, very carefully twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open, closing the door gently behind her...

Upon exiting the others bedroom, Lilliana's first instinct is to look around, and the first mon she spots is Libby! The Sylveon is sitting in front of her door, looking down at what appeared to be some sort of note.

 _Oh thank Arceus, Libby's still alive! Where was she all yesterday?!_

With a widened eyed yet relieved look on her face, Lilliana makes a mad dash toward toward the Sylveon, skidding to a stop right in front of her! The very sudden appearance of the Espeon makes Libby gasp, starting to shake a bit.

"Libby, you're okay!" Lilliana smiles bright, raising a paw up and gently setting it on her shoulders, "What happened Libby, where were you yesterday?"

"I-I-In m-my room..." Libby slowly responds, letting out a shaky sigh, and then looking down at the note, "D-D-Do you kn-know anything about th-this...?"

Lilliana tilts her head, looking down to the note, "Huh? What is that, some note?"

"Y-Yeah..." Libby responds, one of her ribbons slowly picking it up, "I-It says...

'Dear Libby,

I request that you join me in the library early in the morning, as soon as you can. I'll be there until 7:10am, so please get there as soon as you can.

It's urgent.

Sincerely,

~Z'"

"Hmm... Z? Maybe it's from Zachary?" Lilliana questions, tilting her head, "It'd make sense, he might've been concerned that you weren't at the library to help us search yesterday."

"S-S-Should w-we go...?"

"I think so," Lilliana speaks up with a smile, "If it's from Zachary and it's urgent, we should probably get there as soon as possible."

Libby gives a small, shaky nod, pushing up to a stand, "O-Okay then... L-Lets go..."

With a small smile, Lilliana turns and starts to walk off with Libby. Though, she takes a look back to her room, suddenly remembering what she was wanting most...

 _Oh crap... Well, uh... Guess I'm stuck going to the library now. I'll just go to bed after._

With a little sigh knowing she's lost her chance at more sleep for a little while longer, she turns back and continues with Libby toward the library.

* * *

It took the duo a few minutes to get to the library, and they were rather close, turning down its hall to see that Zachary and Rosalie were right near the doors, about to enter. "Hey!" Lilliana shouted, causing Rosalie to jump a little, turning to look, and chuckling a little at the sight of Lilliana and Libby.

Zachary had just sort of turned, not seeming to be scared by the sudden jump. Libby though, right beside Lilliana, did get a little startled by it, turning to look at Lilliana, the Sylveon's heart beating just a little faster.

"Wait for us!" Lilliana calls, starting to dash forward toward the duo. Libby follows behind, though is moving a little slower than the Espeon.

Once Lilliana and Libby get up to Zachary and Rosalie, Lilliana smiles, "Hey Zachary, Hey Rosalie."

"Hey!" Rosalie smiles, "What's up?"

"Heheh, just coming here to find out what Libby's note was all about~"

"Libby's note?" Zachary questions, tilting his head as he looked to the Sylveon, "You received a note?"

"Y-Yeah..." She nods slowly, "I-It isn't from y-you...?"

"No... Does it claim to be from me?"

"I-It claims t-to be from Z..."

"Hmm... Curious," He says, "Can I have a look?"

With a shaky nod, Libby passes Zachary the note, and he gives it a once over...

"Hmm... If it's so urgent, why only invite one person?"

"Maybe it's supposed to be a secret?" Lilliana questions with a tilted head.

"Secrets aren't good," Rosalie speaks, shaking her head, "Secrets can end friendships, so secrets should be as avoided as possible."

"This doesn't seem right..." Zachary shuts his eyes a moment, sighing as he shakes his head, folding the note up, "Mind if I hold onto this?"

"N-No problem..." Libby responds...

"Well, er, lets get in there and see what was so urgent, yeah?" Lilliana smiles a little.

"Agreed."

Zachary turns and opens up the door, stepping inside.

* * *

As the door opens up, the first sight noticed was another piece of paper on the floor, a note.

Zachary pads over and picks that up, reading through it.

"2:30am? That's in the middle of nighttime..."

"What about 2:30am?"

"One of us was asked to meet here at 2:30am," Zachary responds, "It doesn't state who though..."

With a small nod, Lilliana steps forward. The library seemed mostly normal from what it looked like, the four walls lined with shelves, and the wall in the middle of the library, also surrounded by shelves lined with books, where Zachary was stationed, didn't seem all that screwed with at all. Though looking along to the side of the wall, Rosalie notices that the door to the overlook was opened.

"Maybe they wanted to meet at the overlook?" Rosalie asks, stepping away from the others and closer toward the door, past the large middle shelf. As she passed it, she turned to look to her side just a moment, to see if everything seemed normal back there.

The Roserade's loud gasped echoed through the large library as soon as she looked, catching the other mons attention.

"I-Is something wrong?" Lilliana asked, taking a few steps closer.

Rosalie just backed up, her face drained of any and all emotion, except for fear itself. She was shaking her head slowly, as if in disbelief... And within a single moment, her lips parted, jaw going agape, and releasing a blood-curdling scream!

That called further attention to the scene before them, Zachary and Lilliana dashing around the wall, with Libby following behind, looking over their shoulders.

* * *

From the balcony of the library overlook, a long piece of rope dangled, swinging slowly from side to side. As it grew lower, the finger of a loop appeared at its bottom, tied up... In the form of a noose.

No head remained inside the noose, nor a body, though some dried up blood remained on its bottom. However, the books behind on the shelves seemed to be scattered quite a deal, and some had fallen down onto the floor.

Though what was left on the floor didn't quite seem to be only books, as lying in the center of the wildly messed up section of books, lied the cold, lifeless body of one Jon the Grovyle.

He wasn't lied out peacefully on his back or on his gut, no, he was all sprawled and crumbled up. He had a large, bloody gash on his head, signifying he had been dealt a blow. Not to mention, he had rope burns along his chin, with some blood there was well.

Lilliana store over the sight of a mon who was once a captive alongside her and the others, now left in a state of gore and death, nothing to show for his life previously.

Rosalie was in a shaking panic, although the others remained wide-eyed and still, disbelief a prime feeling among the living four...

The loudspeaker chimed in loudly, with a set of calming bells...

 **DING DONG DONG DING**

 **A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!**

 **PLEASE GATHER IN THE LIBRARY PUHUHUHU~**

 **AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, THE CLASS TRIAL WILL BEGIN!**

 **THOUGH YOU'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A FEW SHORT MINUTES!**

As the loudspeaker died out, Lilliana knew she had received confirmation about what had just occurred. A death. And someone in here was responsible.

It didn't take long for quickened paw steps to be heard rushing into the library, and Lilliana knew one thing was for sure.

This was simply the start of a long, cruel captivity...

* * *

 **Uh oh, it looks as though the first death has occurred!**

 **Who killed Jon?!**

 **What will happen next?!**

 **Will the remainder of our group escape Hope's Peak Academy with their lives?!**

 **Only one way to find out... Read the next chapter once it comes out!**

 **Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed!**


	5. CH1 Investigation - A Cruel Mistress

**DANGANPOKE**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **A CRUEL MISTRESS**

 _ **INVESTIGATION**_

* * *

 **DING DONG DONG DING**

 **A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!**

 **PLEASE GATHER IN THE LIBRARY PUHUHUHU~**

 **AFTER A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, THE CLASS TRIAL WILL BEGIN!**

 **THOUGH YOU'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT IN JUST A FEW SHORT MINUTES!**

After a few minutes everyone's in the library, past the bookshelf dead in the center, and surrounding the cold, dead body of Jon.

There was silence among everyone, nobody spoke.

This silence is immediately broken up by Monokuma, the death bear leaping out from somewhere behind the crowd and standing in the center of our circular gathering. The thing was grinning ear to ear, looking so proud and smug at the sight of death.

 **"FIIIIIINALLY! Geez, took you brats long enough~."**

"You fucking killed him..." Ishtar spoke quietly, though a growl was starting to slip from her maw... The Arcanine took a few steps closer, getting right in Monokuma's face, "YOU FUCKING KILLED ONE OF US!"

 **"Puhuhu, not so fast with the accusations tough gal~."**

Monokuma leaped up, onto Ishtar's head and using it as extra leverage to perform a backflip onto one of the bookshelves, which was empty. The shelves were pretty small, so his feet were inside, but his legs were poking out, having to hold onto one of the higher shelves. He now wasn't in grabbing distance for any of us, save for maybe Archimedes and Timaeus, who could fly.

 **"Nah Nah Nah, one of yous dids it, see~? I can't interfere in any of these cases, so one of you reeeeeally wanted those three wishes~!"**

Ishtar growled further but didn't speak up again. Ishtar was glaring right at Monokuma, but Lilliana could look around and see that the group was looking among each other, almost in shock.

Libby leaned up against Lilliana, the Sylveon whimpering and trembling. Lilliana could only sigh...

 **"Now then, here's how you guys can find out who really killed the ultimate not-so-lucky student!"**

 **"You'll all be getting a few hours to comb the scene of the crime and the surrounding areas for information, evidence~ After a few hours though, you'll have run out of time, and be called to the trial side of the school to get the class trial done~!"**

 **"And just like I explained a few days ago, you'll get some time to argue your points with the evidence gathered, but will all eventually have to come to a conclusion!"**

 **"If you conclude who the correct blackened is, you'll live on, and they'll be granted a brutal, painful death, whatever way I wanna~."**

 **"If you pick the wrong blackened though, you'll all be killed off, and the blackened will graduate, being set free from this school~."**

 **"Now that you're filled in, hehe, you can check your student handbooks to find some valuable information to start with~."**

Lilliana pulled her student handbook out and turned it on, watching as the screen flashes her name... Before the screen transitions into a blood red, and black text appears on the screen.

"Monokuma... File?"

 **"THAT'S RIGHT~! I DIDN'T WANNA LEAVE YOU ALL WITH NO INFORMATION, GET YOU ALL STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT~ ONLY MAKES THE TRIALS MORE ENTERTAINING FOR ME IN THE END~!"**

Lilliana reads over the Monokuma file...

 _MONOKUMA FILE #1_

 _THE VICTIM WAS JON DAPHER, GROVYLE, AGE 19_

 _HEIGHT: 2'11"_

 _WEIGHT: 47.6 lbs_

 _ULTIMATE LUCKY STUDENT_

 _THE VICTIM WAS DISCOVERED IN THE LIBRARY_

 _THE ESTIMATED TIME OF DEATH IS 2:50 AM_

 _THE VICTIM HAS SEVERE ROPE BURNS ALONG THE CHIN, PAINFULLY VISIBLE, LEAKING SLIGHT BLOOD_

 _THE VICTIM ALSO HAS A WOUND ON HIS HEAD, SKULL PARTIALLY CAVED IN AND SPEWING BLOOD_

 _THE VICTIM ALSO HAS MANY BROKEN BONES ALONG HIS LEGS, HIPS, AND CHEST, WITH MINOR CRACKS IN HIS SPINE, MOST COMMON IN THOSE WHO TAKE A LARGE FALL_

 _THE VICTIM ALSO HAS INTERNAL BLEEDING IN THE CHEST/GUT AREA_

 _NO OTHER INJURIES WERE DETECTED_

"Holy shit..." Salvador said, eyes wide and shaking his head.

"There's no way one of us could do that, right...?" Rosalie looked around at the others with slight tears, "Right...?"

 **"OH, YOU CAN BET THEY DAMN WELL DID~! PUHUHU~!"**

Monokuma leaps off the bookshelf, flawlessly executing a triple front flip before landing behind the group.

 **"YOU ALL ENJOY YOUR INVESTIGATION, I'LL BE WATCHING! AND WAITING~."**

He dashed off, yet this time no one ran after him...

No... Everyone was still shaken up about the loss of Jon...

And the fact that one of them had apparently done it...

Lucas walks up to Lilliana, holding his handbook and looking over the information, "We should start investigating," He suggests, Lilliana turning her head to see Lucas beside her. He was standing on the opposite side of Libby, still up against Lilliana's side and whimpering.

Lilliana looks down at Jon's body once more, sighing... "Yeah... We have to..."

Lilliana frowns, turning her head to look at Libby and gently nudging her off, "I'm sorry Libby, but I gotta investigate."

Libby looked at Lilliana with an upset face, head hanging low... And she silently nods...

Lilliana turns back to Lucas and lets out another long sigh, "We should get started."

"I'd be willing to help you," offers Lucas, "Whatever it takes to catch whoever killed Jon."

Lilliana nods, "Yeah... I'd like that..."

 _ **INVESTIGATION START**_

Lilliana looks back down at the monokuma file with a frown, gazing over its information once more, "This would be very useful..."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: MONOKUMA FILE #1**_

"So," Lucas starts, Lilliana looking back up to the Lucario, "You gather some info, okay? I'll investigate the body further."

"Okay," Lilliana nods, turning away as Lucas made his way up to Jon, crouching down and investigating the body further. Maria joined him, walking up close and looking over the deceased grovyle's corpse.

 _Hmm... What would be a good place to start...?_

 _Oh, the notes!_

 _Libby has one sent to her, and Zachary has one, but we don't know who it's for._

 _It's probably best to gather those up._

Lilliana makes her way to Libby, who's still somewhat close, and sits down in front of her, "Hey Libby, er... Look, I need that note you got earlier."

The Sylveon shakily looks up at Lilliana and nods, taking the note out and handing it to her. Lilliana looks through it again.

 _'Dear Libby,_

 _I request that you join me in the library early in the morning, as soon as you can. I'll be there until 7:10am, so please get there as soon as you can._

 _It's urgent._

 _Sincerely,_

 _~Z'_

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: MISC. NOTE #1**_

"Lilliana..." Libby starts to talk, the Espeon turning her attention to the shaking Sylveon. She lets out a little sniffle and continues, "D-Do... D-Do you th-think th-they invited m-me in he-here t-to try and k-kill me t-too...?"

Lilliana frowns... She looks down at the floor, "I, uh, I really don't know. I think once I gather all the needed information, Lucas and I could probably determine what the killer wanted to do."

Libby just nods again, "O-O-Okay..."

"I'll be back Libby, don't worry. We'll all be safe," Lilliana states, sending the Sylveon a small smile before walking off, leaving Libby to herself again.

Next, Lilliana makes her way to Zachary.

The Zorua immediately pulls out the note, "Figured you wanted this," And passes it her way, "If you need any help investigating, let me know. I'll be doing some investigations on my own, though it always helps to have more eyes."

"I have Lucas helping me so it should be no problem. Thanks for the note."

Zachary nods, "No problem."

 _Okay, so what does this one say...?_

 _'Greetings,_

 _I request that you join me in the library late at night. I understand it's during nighttime, but it's a very urgent meetup._

 _There's some crucial information I need to share with you._

 _Please meet me at around 2:30 am, when everyone else is asleep, to assure nothing goes wrong._

 _Sincerely,_

 _~Z'_

 ** _TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: MISC. NOTE #2_**

"Hmm... Zachary, you didn't write these letters, did you?"

"No, I had nothing to do with them. The pawwriting doesn't even match-up, and I can get one of my published works to prove it, I remember seeing a few of them here..."

"Were the published prints not printed out?" Lilliana asks, tilting her head.

"Oh, they were," Zachary starts, "But they were actually all copied off of my written works, so the font is unique to my paw."

"Ahh, understandable," Lilliana replies, nodding, "So, hey, where were you last night around 2:30?"

"I was in my room," Zachary replies with a calm tone, "I wasn't asleep though, I was still reading."

"Do you remember hearing anything outside of your room?"

"Remember, the walls and door are both thick enough to cancel noise. I wouldn't have heard anything."

"Oh... Right..." Lilliana responds, gaining a faint blush in not remembering that information.

"Though, as I said, I was only in my room reading. There were no other witnesses, so the best you can do is take my word for it."

Lilliana nods, having a notepad app opened in her student handbook and typing out the situation, "Got it, yeah."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: ZACHARY'S ACCOUNT**_

"Good luck with your search," Zachary gives a small smile, turning and starting to walk off, "I'll find that book with my pawwriting."

"Got it," Lilliana waves him off, turning and starting to walk back toward Libby.

 _That reminds me now, I should talk to Libby again, get a little more in-depth in asking where she was yesterday and at the time of the murder._

Before she can reach Libby though, Lucas ends up stepping in front of the Espeon, looking down at her. This caught Lilliana off guard, and she did end up bumping into the Lucario, her head pushing between his legs.

Lucas jumps back a bit, glaring, "Now's not the time for that, we have a murder to solve."

Lilliana's left blushing profusely, looking down at the floor, "S-Sorry, you c-came out of no-"

"Doesn't matter now," Lucas huffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, "I examined Jon, everything matches up to the monokuma file. He didn't have anything on him."

Lilliana gives a small nod, "Yeah..."

"Though, I did take a look at the noose, noticed it had some blood on it. There's no doubt Jon was up there at one point."

"Got it..." Lilliana said, looking up at the rope...

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: NOOSE**_

"Also, look at the books behind it," Lucas brings up, raising a paw and pointing at the shelf behind the notes. The books were all messed up, and thrown around, some even fallen all the way on the floor around Jon's body.

"Struggle, no doubt about it," He continues.

"So... We can probably rule out suicide..." Lilliana draws out an upset sigh, "So it was definitely one of us..."

"I'm pretty sure the caved-in skull is what ruled out the suicide," Lucas replies.

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: MESSED UP BOOKS**_

"We should get up to the overlook, where the noose is hanging from," Lucas suggests, "There's likely more clues up there."

"Yeah," Lilliana says, nodding, "Though after I have to talk to Libby, about her going missing yesterday."

"Could be a good lead," Lucas nods, "Though for now, let's head up."

Lucas and Lilliana turn and walk to the opened door, inside a tall staircase that led up three stories to the overlook.

* * *

Once they reach the top and make their way past the open door, Lilliana gets a good look at the library overlook.

It's a small rectangular area, its 3 walls covered in bookshelves, although the one right across from the overlooks entryway had what looked like a closet door, and to their immediate right a fancy, brown guard rail, wooden.

Lilliana only took one step in before feeling her paw hit something dry yet... At the same time wet... Curiously she looks down...

"Blood..." She starts, her own going cold as she lifts her paw up. Her paw pads were stained in the blood of somemon, most likely Jon.

Lucas looked down at the blood too, giving it a good look over, "Well, there's only one bleeding scar we can pin this blood to, Jon's caved-in head."

"Yeah..." Lilliana frowns, further looking over the blood... It makes the Espeon even further sick to her stomach knowing that this blood was more likely than not tied to the dead body downstairs.

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: BLOODSTAIN**_

"For now, let's focus on something else," Lucas suggests, "You go investigate those books, and I'll investigate the rest of the room."

Lilliana gives a small nod, "Got it," She replies making her way to the balcony-side of the overlook. There was a tall stack of ten different books, and the rope of the noose seemed to be running from under it...

Lilliana gulped, and her gem glowed, an aura wrapping around the top book of the stack, followed by the next, going down the ten...

"These books... They all weigh around ten or so pounds... All together they'd weigh over 100 lbs... Easily twice Jon's size... No doubt these were used to keep Jon from pulling the rope down..."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: STACK OF 10 HEAVY BOOKS**_

Looking over the books, Lilliana then follows the line down to the rope, starting to follow that. She gets up to it and reaches a paw, grabbing it and pulling it a little closer.

She gives a small tug and the books don't even so much as move, "Yep, pretty heavy..."

She was about to let go of the noose again before noticing something somewhat weird...

"What is that...?" She questions, leaning in closer to try and get a better look... "What the hell is that...?"

She tries to lean in a little closer to get a better look at what seemed like some pink sparkles on the rope, gripping at the rope a bit more... Until it felt sorta... Weird...

She looked down to her paw and started to rub along it... "Feels... Wet..."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: PROPERTIES OF NOOSE**_

"Hey," Lucas suddenly calls, looking into the closet door he had just opened. Lilliana turns as Lucas continues, "You may wanna look at this."

Lilliana lets go of the rope, making a mental note about it to herself, and stepping past the stack of books.

Lucas pushes the door open a bit further, letting Lilliana peek in and see...

"Is that...?"

What Lilliana laid her eyes on at that very moment was a golden candlestick, though no candle was inside. The bottom of this candlestick was caked in blood...

Lilliana shakes her head immediately, growing a little sicker and turning to look away.

Lucas didn't seem to share this feeling of sickness, leaning outright leaning down and grabbing the candlestick, examining it a bit, waving it up and down a little...

"No doubt, this was what struck Jon in the head. It's definitely thick and heavy enough to strike him, and a vast majority of us could've picked it up pretty easily, save for a few."

Lilliana continued looking away, gulping a little, "Like...?"

"Probably Rosalie, Poppy, and I'd maybe go as far as Tana though I'm not entirely sure on that one. Maybe Salvador and Aster too, lump them all in."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: BLOODY CANDLESTICK**_

"Alright," Lucas suddenly starts, setting the candlestick back down and walking up to Lilliana, "So, it may be a good idea to share what we each know."

"Personally I don't really know anything. I was in my room training after the motive was revealed and then went to sleep at night time. What about you?"

Lucas asks, looking to Lilliana, who had only just turned back to look at the Lucario...

The Espeon gives a small nod, sitting down on the floor and starting to recount the night prior, "Hmm... Well, I know all of yesterday Libby was missing, but I doubt she had anything to do with the case..."

"Good to keep a note of that," Lucas points out, "Just in case."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: ABSENCE OF LIBBY**_

Lilliana pauses for a few moments after Lucas finishes before continuing, "Okay... Last night, I was actually in Tana's room throughout the night. It was myself, Tana, Ruby, Poppy, and Kanaya, and Tana and I had made an agreement that she'd start being nice to the others. In return I had to write her a song, so we all wrote one together, and then fell asleep in Tana's room around... 2:30 or so."

"Got it, so then that could mark all of you innocent if you know for sure everyone went to sleep around that time."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: TANA'S SLEEPOVER**_

"Er... Well, that's actually the thing..." Lilliana lets out a low sigh, "Around that time, before I fell asleep, I heard Kanaya and Poppy talking."

"What were they saying?"

"I couldn't really make it out," she replies with a small frown, "I could only make out that it was surely them two. And then I think after the convo I heard the door open and close, one of them left. Which one I don't really know."

"Got it," Lucas states, "So then one of them does have the chance of being involved."

"Yeah."

"Good, keep that in mind for the trial."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: KANAYA & POPPY'S CONVERSATION**_

"That's all you know?"

"Yeah," Lilliana nods, again, "That's everything I know that could help."

"Alright then, let's go talk to some of the others, find out what they know and see if there's anything they've found that'd be helpful," Lucas starts to walk toward the door of the overlook, Lilliana following behind, not replying.

* * *

Once they reach the downstairs area, Lilliana looks around the room.

There were only a few mons left, the rest having split up.

Libby remained sat down where Lilliana last talked to her, beside the center bookcase.

Timaeus was looking over Jon's body, shaking his heads slightly as he examined it.

Glenn was sat in the corner of the room, somewhat in the shadows, though his brightly-colored body wasn't helping protect him from sight though. He probably wasn't actively trying to hide, or else Lilliana definitely would've seen him.

Zachary was on the other side of the center bookshelf, rifling through a particular section on one of the bookshelves for one of his personal writes.

Ishtar was seen standing by the door to the overlook, and once Lucas and Lilliana exited, she pushed inside and made her way upstairs.

Aster, who as Lilliana thought about it, also wasn't present much yesterday save for the motive announcement, was also looking over Jon's body. He had his paw over and was patting at Jon's head, specifically his bloody, caved-in skull, trying to rouse him, "Wake up, peasant."

Lilliana's eyes go wide at that. She rushes over to Timaeus and Aster and reaches a paw across, swatting Aster's hand away, "Aster, he's dead! Why are you calling him a peasant?"

"My butler taught me that everyone below me is a peasant."

 _Arceus..._

"Well, your butler is wrong in this case!"

"My butler's never incorrect," Aster informs the Espeon, "Unless his opinion is against my own. Then and only then is he incorrect."

Lilliana shakes her head violently, blowing out an annoyed sigh, "Whatever, alright? Just don't go touching dead bodies!"

"But can I not wake him up?" Aster asks, tilting his head.

"No, you can't! Dead and asleep are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS! There's no way to wake him up!"

"You shouldn't be yelling at me, you know," Aster shakes his head, "No no, you really shouldn't."

Lilliana stops for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, calming herself a bit, "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Things are pretty stressful right now, one of us did die."

"Apology accepted," Aster nods, "Please don't allow it to happen again, or else there will be a consequence."

Lilliana lowers her head a bit, annoyance very clear on her face. Timaeus, right beside Lilliana, brings one of his heads down and starts to drag it along her back, the other two heads shaking, "You annoy others a lot," He directs, his other arm-head looking Aster's way while his regular head looked down at Lilliana, "You'd be quite the prankster."

"A... Pr-Ay-nnnkeh, ssterrrr?" Aster seemed to have some trouble grasping the word.

"Prankster, yes," All three heads nod, "Once justice is served we should talk a bit."

"Justice? Who deserves justice?"

"Whoever killed Jon," Lilliana points out, looking back up at Aster, "We need to find out who did it."

"Can't we just ask the others? One of them is bound to have done it."

"W-W-W-Why d-do you b-b-believe t-t-they w-would t-tell th-the tru-th...?" A new voice asks, Libby stepping a little closer and looking to Aster.

"I'm a prince," Aster speaks so matter of factly, "They're required to be truthful."

"They really aren't," Lilliana starts, "You don't have much authority around here."

"Let's just get to the point," Lucas starts, making his way closer and looking over the four before him, "Aster, you first. Where were you yesterday?"

"I'm not required to tell you."

"Aster," Timaeus speaks up next, still rubbing Lilliana's back, "If there's any chance the information you know can reveal whoever killed Jon, then you should really get to speaking."

"Fine," Aster replied, "I'm doing this as a favor, you're not owed it or anything from me."

"Just get to it," Lucas pushes a bit, glaring slightly over the alolan Vulpix.

"Yesterday, I was in my room relaxing, as I felt I deserved it. I came to breakfast in the morning, and to our principal's lecture. Otherwise, I was relaxing quite peacefully, though I am rather annoyed no one bothered to show up."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: ASTER'S ACCOUNT**_

"Show up for what?" Lilliana asked.

"To ask if I wanted food or drink, or if I needed anything. That was quite rude that no one bothered to show their face and serve me."

"Get over yourself," Lucas rolls his eyes, crossing his arms, next turning to Timaeus, "You next, what do you know? Where were you yesterday?"

"I followed Tana and her gang around after the motive reveal. I saw Tana eyeing the others up after it was announced, so I just wanted to make sure she wouldn't pull anything. I was asleep by nighttime though. The last thing I saw was Tana, Ruby, Poppy, Kanaya, and Lilliana starting to work on a song."

"That's consistent with Lilliana's story."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: TIMAEUS' ACCOUNT**_

"Additionally, that motive likely played quite the part in this case, so it's always a good idea to remember what that was," Lucas speaks, looking down to Lilliana, "The three wishes."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: MOTIVE**_

"Libby," Lucas directs his attention to the Sylveon now, "Where were you yesterday?"

"I-I-I was, uh, i-in my r-r-room a-all day..."

"Hmm..." Lucas starts, reaching a paw up to his chin and rubbing it slightly in thought, "If that's the case, then how come yesterday Monokuma said he couldn't find you through the cameras? There are more than a few cameras in each room."

"I-I-In the cl-cl-closet..."

"Hmm..." Lucas sighs a little, "Last time I checked there weren't cameras in the closet, but... That doesn't necessarily add up. Let's keep a note of that just in case though."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: LIBBY'S ACCOUNT**_

"Anyways," Lucas starts, reaching down and grabbing Lilliana's paw, "We really should get to finishing making our rounds of interrogations, we don't have long before the trial begins."

"Good luck," Timaeus replies, "I'll keep looking over the body, make sure nothing happens to it."

"Thanks," Lilliana replies, being pulled away from the group by Lucas, before soon being let go and allowed to walk on her own, "What was the pulling for?"

"We needed to leave, we likely don't have much time left."

"Still seemed a bit unnecessary," Lilliana points out, looking around the library. The duo watches as Ishtar comes back down from the overlook, starting to walk toward the library's exit.

"Hmm..." Lucas starts, "Would be a good idea to get the attendance notes from breakfast. Aster reminded me of it, and it could hold some important information. I believe she also did it for lunch and dinner too."

Lilliana nods, "I can go ask her if you'd like."

"Please do," Lucas replies, "I have a bit of investigating to do on my own if you don't mind."

And without another word, Lucas just turns and leaves, walking off, leaving Lilliana with having to walk up to Ishtar on her own.

"Bye..." Lilliana replies, watching him walk off, not even giving so much as a wave. The Espeon turns and starts to walk toward Ishtar, having to speed-walk to catch up to the Arcanine as she got closer to the library's exit.

"Hey, Ishtar!" Lilliana called out, prompting the Arcanine to stop and turn her head back.

"Yes?" Ishtar asks, turning the rest of the way and staring right to Lilliana, who sits down directly in front of her.

"Hey so, listen, I was curious of something for the case. Is there any chance I could see your attendance papers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

"Why do you need it?" Ishtar asks once more, setting a small glare.

"Well, I figured it'd be pretty helpful to help determine if others who bring it up as part of their alibi are telling the truth or not."

Ishtar pauses for a moment, before giving a nod, "That's some smart thinking for a musician," She states, implying musicians aren't too smart. She reaches a paw into her mane and pulls out a few papers with scribbled on names and checkmarks beside them, varying between 0, 1, 2, and 3, depending on who went in at what times.

She hands the list to Lilliana, "Don't mess them up."

"I'm only looking for a moment, or so, then you can have them back. I basically have a photographic memory, so once I get a good look at each paper, I should have no problems remembering."

Lilliana takes a moment to look over the attendance papers...

"Hmm... Consistent with what we know so far... Though we haven't gotten too many alibis' just yet, so they could still come in handy."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: ISHTAR'S ATTENDANCE PAPERS**_

She passes the set of papers back to Ishtar, who quickly stuff them back in her mane.

"Thank you," Lilliana smiles, "You have any leads so far?"

"It's confidential right now, officers orders. I'll discuss it in the court."

"You mean the class trial?" Lilliana questions with a tilt of her head, "It's only gonna hurt us to keep any info you have to yourself."

"Probably nothing you don't already know," Ishtar replies quickly and... A little annoyed, "Now, please let the officer get back to work."

Lilliana nods, turning and walking off, Ishtar leaving the library.

 _Hmm... Ishtar isn't as... Yelly as usual right now... She's probably hyper-focused on finding the culprit._

As Lilliana turns, she sees Lucas walk right up to her pretty quickly, standing tall above her, "I'm heading out," He starts, "Investigating some on my own, gotta comb every inch of this place. You continue what you think you gotta do, okay?"

Lilliana nods, "Gotcha."

And just like that, Lucas turns and starts to walk off... And from right behind Lucas, Zachary walks up, holding a book. The Zorua seemed to be sweating a bit. He passed the book to Lilliana, "The book was a bit higher on the shelf then I was hoping, but I got it. Should be quite useful."

Lilliana nods, flipping through some pages of the book. She opens up onto a page and pulls out both of the mysterious notes, setting them each on one side of the book...

"Hmm... Yeah, you were right. The pawwriting just doesn't match up with the notes. I think this proves you weren't the one to write these notes unless you did a false pawwriting job."

"If it has anything to do with my name or initials," Zachary begins, "It will, without doubt, have my own pawwriting. I pride myself heavily on that."

"Understandable," Lilliana speaks, smiling a bit knowing Zachary was likely just canceled out of being the culprit, "I'm not surprised the ultimate author has a big thing for pawwriting."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: ZACHARY'S BOOK**_

"You can hold onto that if you'd like," Zachary points out, "Might be helpful in the case."

Lilliana nods, "Was already planning on it. Anyways, I still have someone else to talk to."

"Got it," Zachary nods back, "Good luck in the investigations, though I'll say it's pretty weird the ultimate musician of all of us had to step up to do it."

"I'm not the only one," Lilliana says, "Though we have to participate in this to get it over with, and then hopefully there'll be no murders after."

"Hopefully," Zachary agrees, "I'll stop holding you up now."

"Thanks," Lilliana replies, "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," Zachary follows, watching as Lilliana walks past him and back toward the half of the library with Jon's dead body. She looks and finds Glenn once more, figuring he'd also be quite the help in this case since he's with Jon frequently.

Lilliana makes her way up to him, in the far corner, hiding in a not-too-dark shadow, "Glenn?" She asks, stepping a little closer.

"What?"

"Er... Are you okay?"

"Do I seem like I'm okay?" He asks, staring directly into Lilliana's eyes, unmoving otherwise.

"Not... Really..."

"Someone just died, of course, I'm not okay..." He sighs, "And I could've prevented it."

"How so?" Lilliana asks.

"He told me last night, before night time. He received a letter and was going to go to the library at 2:30am, was thinking it was something to do with Zachary as it was initialed 'Z'..."

"Ugh... Zachary..." Glenn continues, "Should never have trusted him..."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: GLENN'S ACCOUNT**_

"I er... I don't think Zachary did this, Glenn..."

"Just leave me be, I need some alone time to think..." He shuts his eyes, lowering down to a sitting position with a low sigh.

Lilliana nods slowly, though holds a small frown, "Got it..." She says, turning and starting to walk off.

As she walks away, she starts to think...

 _Hmm... I have quite a bit of information... The others are well spread out investigating other rooms... Maybe some alone time myself would help me think a bit better about the possibilities..._

So, Lilliana makes her way towards the doors of the library and exits, making her way now back toward her room.

* * *

It's not long before she walks in, taking a look around the place a bit as she wanders deeper, closing the door and locking it behind her. She sighs and lets out a low sniffle, stepping a bit further in...

"This is... This is gonna be... Upsetting..."

She steps a bit further in, looking around some more as she thinks through what she knows... Before seeing that plaque on the wall...

"Wait..." She gets closer and reads over the plaque again...

 **'ATTENTION:**

 **LET IT BE KNOWN THAT WHEN NIGHTTIME HITS, THE WATER TO THE BUILDINGS WILL BE TURNED OFF TO SAVE MONEY.**

 **PLEASE USE THIS KNOWLEDGE ACCORDINGLY'**

"Hmm..." She thinks a moment, "If the murder took place at 2:50 am... The water was long since turned off, so even if water was on the rope at the time..." Her brow furrows some, "Wouldn't... Wouldn't the rope have been dried by now...? Even if the rope was doused at 2:50 am. It's a bit of a stretch on whether the rope would be dry or not..."

 _ **TRUTH BULLET OBTAINED: WATER PLAQUE**_

As Lilliana stares over the plaque some more...

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **AHEM, LADIES AND GENTLEMAAAAAAAAN, PUHUHU, GET YOUR BUTTS TO THE TRIAL SIDE DOORS!**

 **IT'S TIME FOR THE...**

 **LONG-AWAITED**

 **AND HEAVILY-ANTICIPATED**

 **CLASS TRIAL!**

The speakers go quiet after, and a lump forms in Lilliana's throat...

 _It's... Time..._

 _I should head that way..._

Lilliana turns and makes her way out of the room, heading to the t-junction between the class side, dorm side, and trial side.

* * *

Lilliana had just turned the corner to the trial side. Further up was a huge door, one that a few mons on the first day tried and unfortunately failed to open. But this time here it was, doors wide opened and revealing a small room ahead. The floor was checkered white and black, and the wall was a calming beige. At the far opposite end of the wall, there was a large metal elevator, rusted up to hell.

Lilliana stepped inside, looking around the room and seeing the large group of what was everyone else standing around inside, waiting.

As she looked a bit further, she noticed Zachary sitting alone in the corner... Even Rosalie, practically the Zorua's lapdog, was staying relatively far... Though he seemed calm enough.

Lilliana made her way over, sitting in front of the Zorua, "Hey," She calls, "Are you alright?"

"We're going to die, I'm afraid."

He spoke those words very calmly as if it had little to no effect on himself.

"W-What?"

"Libby was further interrogated about her note, Ishtar caught on about the signature at the bottom and spread the word."

"Everyone believes I'm the killer," He continues, looking among the others, who did seem to be rather cold and distant, insistent on looking away, "And since I'm not, we're all going to die."

Lilliana store over wide-eyed, "Are... You serious...?"

"Lilliana!" A loud shout came from right behind, the Espeon jolting up and turning to see Ishtar standing over her form, "What are you doing talking to this mutt?!"

"Ishtar, w-what do you mean?" Lilliana questions, shaking a little, still somewhat startled from the jumpscare.

"He's the killer! Libby's notes prove it!"

"As I said before, I'm not the killer. Do you not recognize how I'm being framed?" Zachary sighs.

"There's no proof that you're being framed!"

"You've refused countless times to allow me to grab another book from the library and prove it to you with my own pawwriting."

Ishtar's maw opens to start some more arguing before a loud 'ding' is suddenly heard, a bell reminiscent to that of an elevator door. Faces turn to see the doors start to open up.

 **DING DONG BING BONG**

 **BONG BING DONG DING**

 **AH-AH-AH-AHEEEEEEM~**

 **IF THE STUDENTS COULD PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY ONTO THE ELEVATOR AND BRING THEMSELVES DOWN TO THE CLASS TRIAL AREA, IT WOULD BE WELL APPRECIATED~**

 **IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO, IM AFRAID YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO MAKE ANY FURTHER CHOICES WHEN ALL THAT'S LEFT OF YOU IS A BLOODSTAIN ON THE WALL~**

 **PUHUHUHUHU~**

Slowly, everyone starts to file into the elevator, 1-3 mons at a time. Lilliana and Zachary were two of the last, though as they got on, Lilliana sent a small whisper to Zachary.

"Don't worry..." She assures, "I'll make sure we make it out of here alive..."

"Try all you might..." Zachary continues, "It may be a lost cause."

Upon entry, the doors clank shut behind them, and the large metal box begins its descent down below the school.

Lilliana looks over the large cast of the remaining fifteen...

 _We started sixteen strong, and now, one of us is gone..._

 _And with how Monokuma's trying to run this place, another is soon to follow..._

 _I need to prove Zachary's innocence, to keep everyone safe..._

 ** _LIBBY - ALIVE_**

 ** _LUCAS - ALIVE_**

 ** _TANA - ALIVE_**

 ** _POPPY - ALIVE_**

 ** _ROSALIE - ALIVE_**

 _There's no way Zachary was the killer... Hopefully, the rest aren't too caught up in the idea that he is the true killer..._

 ** _KANAYA - ALIVE_**

 ** _ASTER - ALIVE_**

 ** _RUBY - ALIVE_**

 ** _ZACHARY - ALIVE_**

 ** _JON - DECEASED_**

 ** _TIMAEUS - ALIVE_**

 _Because if they are, this is gonna be a bloodbath, I'm sure... And at this moment where survival is key..._

 ** _ISHTAR - ALIVE_**

 ** _GLENN - ALIVE_**

 ** _SALVADOR - ALIVE_**

 ** _ARCHIMEDES - ALIVE_**

 ** _LILLIANA - ALIVE_**

 _We need to survive this... Class trial...!_

* * *

 **There we go, that's the investigation chapter!**

 **With all these clues now in your heads, who do you believe is the killer?**

 **Could everyone be correct in blaming Zachary?**

 **Or is it someone else?**

 **You can find out next time!**

 **If you enjoyed, please leave a review, and thanks for reading~!**


	6. CH1 Trial - A Cruel Mistress

**DANGANPOKE**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **A CRUEL MISTRESS**

 _ **CLASS TRIAL**_

* * *

The elevator slows to a complete stop, its journey to only Arceus knows where finally complete.

The doors slowly open, revealing a large, circular room. Stepping out, some were amazed and awe-struck at the sight. The roof seemed to be miles up... How deep underground were we?

The walls of the circular room looked to be golden bookshelves, filled to the brim with various books.

Zachary steps closer and reaches a paw into the shelf... Grabbing a book, trying to pull it out, "Stuck pretty good..."

"Probably fake anyway," I reply, staring toward the center of the room. It was a large, circular, wooden stand, leading to a set of wood, fence-like podiums. Each podium was separated by a little mark of wooden fence as well.

Stepping closer, my eyes lie on the sight of Jon. Instead, a picture of Jon, with a red four-leaf clover over his face. It stood at one of these podiums, held up by a stand of some sorts.

 **"PUHUHU! NOW THE CLASS TRIAL CAN FINALLY BEGIN~!"**

Descending from the sky is Monokuma, plummeting down... He lands on his feet in the center of these circle of podiums, all connected together. The robotic death bear raises his arms.

 **"COME COME, TAKE YOUR SEATS! YOURS WILL BE MARKED WITH YOUR NAME!"**

The remaining 15 of us walked around looking for our spots, until soon finding each of ours and stepping forward.

Everyone was stood in a big circle... To my direct right was Glenn, followed by Poppy, Ishtar, Zachary, Aster, Libby, Tana, Ruby, Rosalie, Lucas, Salvador, Timaeus, Jon's picture, Archimedes, Kanaya, and back to myself...

Monokuma leaps up from between the circular set of podiums, backflipping high over Ishtar before dropping into a massive, kingly-throne. He sits there, wearing his constant maniacal grin.

* * *

 _CLASS TRIAL PREP_

Jon is deceased, a bloody mess of what he once was, found in the library. Not so lucky after all. Monokuma claims one of us did it... But who? Maybe if we go over the evidence, we can prove who the real killer is. The class trial awaits...

 _TRUTH BULLETS:_

 **Monokuma File #1** \- The victim was Jon Dapher, Grovyle, Age 19 / Height: 2'11" / Weight: 47.6 lbs / Ultimate Lucky Student / The victim was discovered in the library / The estimated time of death is 2:50 am / The victim has severe rope burns along the chin, painfully visible, leaking slight blood / The victim also has a wound on his head, skull partially caved in and spewing blood / The victim also has many broken bones along his legs, hips, and chest, with minor cracks in his spine, most common in those who take a large fall / The victim also has internal bleeding in the chest/gut area / No other injuries were detected.

 **Misc. Note #1** \- 'Dear Libby, I request that you join me in the library early in the morning, as soon as you can. I'll be there until 7:10am, so please get there as soon as you can. It's urgent. Sincerely, ~Z'

 **Misc. Note #2** \- 'Greetings, I request that you join me in the library late at night. I understand it's during nighttime, but it's a very urgent meetup. There's some crucial information I need to share with you. Please meet me at around 2:30 am, when everyone else is asleep, to assure nothing goes wrong. Sincerely, ~Z'

 **Zachary's Account** \- Zachary was in his room at the time of his murder. He wasn't asleep, but was reading. He couldn't hear anyone outside.

 **Noose** \- The noose hung from over the library overlook. It had some blood on it from where Jon was apparently hung.

 **Messed Up Books** \- The books near where Jon was hung were all messed up, thrown around, some even on the floor.

 **Bloodstain** \- A bloodstain on the floor of the library overlook.

 **Stack of 10 Heavy Books** \- The books were being used to hold the noose in place, assure it didn't fall over. Altogether it weighs over 100 lbs, twice Jon's size.

 **Properties Of Noose** \- The noose felt somewhat wet, though didn't necessarily look it. There were also some weird pink sparkles on it.

 **Bloody Candlestick** \- A golden candlestick caked in blood, found in the closet of the library's overlook.

 **Absence Of Libby** \- Libby was seen by no one all day the day before the case. She even missed the introduction of the motive.

 **Tana's Sleepover** \- Lilliana, Tana, Kanaya, Ruby, and Poppy were all sleeping together in Tana's room, around 2:30 am. They were writing a song together beforehand.

 **Kanaya & Poppy's Conversation **\- Lilliana overheard Kanaya and Poppy talking to one another before one of the two left the room.

 **Aster's Account** \- Aster was in his room most of the day yesterday, though he did come to breakfast and the motive meeting.

 **Timaeus' Account** \- Timaeus was asleep by night time, though he did follow Tana around after seeing her eyeing up others at the motive reveal. He saw Tana, Poppy, Kanaya, Ruby, and Lilliana all working together on a song before he left for night time.

 **Motive** \- If someone murdered 24 hours after the reveal, and gets away with it, they'll be granted three wishes. Something shocking would occur if a murder wasn't committed.

 **Libby's Account** \- Libby was in her closet all day the day prior, which didn't have any security camera's.

 **Ishtar's Attendance Papers** \- Shows who was present for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days 2, 3, and some of the breakfast of 4.

 **Zachary's Book** \- A book of Zachary's that shows his paw-writing. It doesn't quite match the writing style from the misc. notes.

 **Glenn's Account** \- Glenn was told by Jon last night that he would be going to this meeting. It was before night time. Jon received a letter initialed 'Z.'

 **Water Plaque** \- Attention: Let it be known that when night time hits, the water to the buildings will be turned off to save money. Please use this knowledge accordingly.

* * *

 **T**

 **R**

 **I**

 **A**

 **L**

 **ALL RISE!**

* * *

 **"Now then, let's begin with a simple explanation of the class trial."**

 **"During the class trial, you will present your arguments for who the killer is, and vote for 'whodunnit.'"**

 **"If you vote correctly, then only the blackened will receive punishment. But if you pick the wrong pokemon..."**

 **"I'll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and that pokemon earns the right to graduate from hope's peak academy!"**

"We shouldn't fail to remember," Zachary starts to speak, "The blackened could always be Monokuma."

 **"Puhuhu, that's a funny one! I wouldn't break my own rules like that~ Without a doubt, it's one of you shmucks!"**

 **"I can't guarantee you'll find out who the blackened is, but I can definitely guarantee a fair trial, 100 percent!"**

 **"Anyways... Let's get this class trial started!"**

"There isn't any need to go into depth, is there?" Tana snarls, glaring toward Zachary, "Zachary's the damn killer!"

"He does know the library like the back of his paw..." Ruby contributes, shaking her head, "He spends most of his time there every day. I don't see who else the blackened could be."

"There are thirteen other mons that aren't you or I Ruby, perhaps try flicking your blame to the true killer," Zachary jests.

As Ishtar speaks, the Zorua's attention immediately flips to her, "And who do you suppose that is, killer?"

"I'm no killer. Though unfortunately, I have no idea who it really is."

"Well then..." Ishtar huffs out, standing tall and looking to the rest, "Let's get the trial underway. Despite how obvious it may be, a criminal is guaranteed to a fair trial. That's the least we can give. So, I'll start us off."

 _Zachary isn't the damned killer... I need to prove that to everyone else..._

 _I need to..._

 _I need to..._

 _I need to prove that Zachary isn't the blackened!_

* * *

 _NON-STOP DEBATE_

 _\- Monokuma File #1_

 _\- Zachary's Account_

 _\- Zachary's Book_

Ishtar: The victim was **Jon Dapher**...

Ishtar: **Grovyle**...

Ishtar: **Ultimate Lucky Student** among us...

Aster: I, Prince Aster, demand the killer reveal themselves!

Aster: For **I am of higher royalty** than the!

Ishtar: Aster, there's no need for the killer to reveal themselves.

Ishtar: It's obvious who broke the law in this case.

Glenn: Zachary.

Ishtar: That's right Glenn, the letters **are marked with his initials** after all.

Glenn: Arceus I wish I had stepped in... **So damn lazy...**

Ishtar: Not to mention, the information of the letters...

Ishtar: Puts **Zachary in the library** at the time of the murder.

 _Zachary's Account_ === **D**

Lilliana: No, that's wrong!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Lilliana watches as the remaining 14 quiet down, direction sent toward her, "Zachary wasn't in the library at the time of the murder."

"And what makes you think that?" Ishtar responds with a low huff, "Was there any sort of solid proof?"

Lilliana paused for a second, a small blush hitting her cheeks, "Well, no, but uh... He told me he was in his room at the time of the murder, reading books."

"And we're just meant to believe this?" The Arcanine continues, shaking her head some, "Of course the killer would lie about where he was at the time of the murder! That way he comes off as being nowhere near the crime scene and therefore unable to be the killer!"

"But, I don't think Zachary's lying... He doesn't seem like the type who would lie."

"Bitch, please!" Tana suddenly shouts now, "You've only known him for like what, four days counting today? You barely know the fucker."

"I mean... That's right, but-"

"Anyone can lie about who they are!" Salvador is yelling next, letting out a fair growl, "Maybe if the fucker was telling this shit to me, I could tell if he was lying or not!"

"So what, you're saying you're an expert lie detector?" Tana spews out toward Salvador, "Hah, as if!"

"May as well try," Zachary comments, looking toward Salvador, "Salvador!" He calls out, the Jangmo-o quickly turning to look at the Zorua, "I was in my room at the time of the murder, reading books."

...

...

...

"Doesn't seem like he's lying..." Salvador sets a glare, "But I'm still watching you..."

"Cut it out!" A loud voice broke through the trial room, everyone's attention quickly shifting in surprise toward... Timaeus.

The Hydreigon looks over the remaining mons, sighing, "We need to calm down and try to get this all sorted out. Maybe try and be a bit more organized. We won't accomplish anything being this messy."

Lilliana gives a small nod, "Yeah, that's what I was h-"

 ** _"I WON'T SIT BACK ANY_ _LONGER!"_**

...

Glenn wears a low glare, paws set down on the fence in front of him, "I'm not gonna sit back any longer! I may have been too damn lazy to do anything about saving Jon, but the least I can do is prove that that damn Zorua did it!"

"But Glenn, he didn't," Lilliana frowns, whimpering a little, "We need to work to prove who really was the culprit."

"That's what I'm doing right now!"

* * *

 _REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN_

 _\- Monokuma File #1_

 _\- Misc. Note 1_

 _\- Zachary's Book_

Glenn: Ishtar and the others made it very clear!

Glenn: There's still the chance that Zachary could be lying!

Glenn: What if the whole time...

Glenn: He was hiding somewhere in the library!

Glenn: What if he never left!

 _... CROSS SWORDS..._

 _... SUCCESS..._

Lilliana: Glenn, I know this is hard to overcome...

Lilliana: But Zachary didn't kill Jon.

Lilliana: He was in his room at the time of the murder.

...

Glenn: It's plain as day that he did!

Glenn: The notes that everyone saw prove it!

Glenn: Not to mention that explanation is as good as 'Oh, I was asleep!'

Glenn: Zachary was in the library, that's where the notes placed him it!

Glenn: The notes had his initials, so **they could only have been written by Zachary!**

 _Zachary's Book ===_ **/**

Lilliana: Consider your words sliced!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Lilliana pulls out the book that Zachary handed her, opening it up.

 _Hmm... I need a few more things to show this off to everyone..._

 **Misc. Note 1**

 **Misc. Note 2**

 _Ah, that's right!_

"Er, who has the two notes? I need them for something."

Ishtar pulls out both notes, passing them along to Lilliana. She uses her psychic to hold the book open, putting both of the notes on one page and keeping the next page of the book open. She flips them around, using hey psychic to float it slowly around the circle of podiums, "This book is one that Zachary wrote."

"That's right," Zachary nods, "And I have a special paw-writing style that I use all the time, especially when writing. It's was elegant enough for the publishing company to decide to use a copy machine to print out what I wrote, as opposed to putting it to text."

"The paw-writings..." Glenn sighs out, "They don't match at all."

"Now that we have that out of the way," Timaeus clears his lungs a little, Lilliana folding the book closed and putting it away, leaving the misc. notes inside, "We should try to keep things a bit more organized. Since we're on the topic of Zachary's alibi, perhaps we should go around the circle and determine alibi's, who was where at the time of the murder. At 2:50 am."

"That sounds good," Ishtar confirms, looking to the rest, "I'll start us off, and we can continue off to my right."

 _This could be important to the case..._

 _We can use the evidence we know to determine if someone is telling the truth, or lying..._

 _Let's see what we have in store..._

* * *

 **Ahhh, so I see, while the 'non-stop debate' and the 'rebuttal showdown' are familiar territories, you aren't all too knowing of what's next.**

 **Allow me to introduce the 'Alibi Arrangement.'**

 **Everyone present will get a chance to speak at the alibi arrangement, including yourself.**

 **Everyone will explain where they were at a specific time, in this case, the time of the murder.**

 **You'll determine after each alibi whether the clues you hold in your back pocket do anything to confirm or deny your classmate's alibi.**

 **After everyone has gone, the alibi arrangement will end.**

 **Good luck!**

* * *

 _ALIBI ARRANGEMENT_

 _\- All Truth Bullets Available_

Ishtar: I was asleep at the time of the murder, probably like everyone else.

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Zachary: I was reading in my room when the murder took place. Awake, of course.

Lilliana: _Zachary's Account_ confirms this!

Aster: I was sleeping in my room. Oh and, before I forget, I demand a comfier bed!

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Libby: I-I-I was a-a-asleep i-in my r-r-room at the t-time of th-the murder...

Lilliana: _Absence of Libby_ proves this may or may not be the case.

Tana: I was asleep in my room with my girlfriends and Lilliana.

Lilliana: _Tana's Sleepover_ confirms this!

Ruby: I was also sleeping in Tana's room, for the sleepover.

Lilliana: _Tana's Sleepover_ confirms this!

Rosalie: I was sleeping in my own room, calming myself with the fragrance of flowers.

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Lucas: I was sleeping, like most everyone else.

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Salvador: Do you need to hear that someone was asleep, again?

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Timaeus: Remember, I went to sleep as of night time.

Lilliana: _Timaeus' Account_ confirms this!

Archimedes: I was resting... Though I wish I were out exploring and had witnessed who murdered Jon!

Lilliana: I got nothin.

Kanaya: I was sound asleep in Tana's room.

Lilliana: While _Tana's Sleepover_ confirms this... _Kanaya & Poppy's Conversation _puts this into question.

Lilliana: I was asleep with the other girls, as _Tana's Sleepover_ confirms.

Glenn: I was awake in my room, worried about what was going on with Jon...

Lilliana: _Glenn's Account_ can help confirm the latter part, but not necessarily the former.

Poppy: I was asleep with everyone else Lilliana, you remember who was at the sleepover.

Lilliana: While _Tana's Sleepover_ confirms this... _Kanaya & Poppy's Conversation _puts this into question.

...

Lilliana: I think I got it!

 ** _BREAK_**

* * *

"Alright," Lilliana looks amongst her classmates, "I think we have a decent idea of who could be the killer."

"Well, go on, let's see what you've come up with," Ishtar ushers.

The Espeon nods, "Er, okay. So, we know since Zachary and Glenn were both still awake, either of them may have done it."

"We've already proven I haven't," Zachary explains.

Glenn quickly shakes his head, arms up in a defensive position, "I didn't kill Jon!"

"You aren't the only ones, you aren't the only ones," Lilliana sighs once Glenn's gone quiet, continuing, "Two alibis were contradicted by something I know of... Kanaya and Poppy, around 2:30 am last night, both of you were talking while everyone else was asleep. I didn't hear what you were saying, but I could definitely tell it was you two."

"Ah..." Kanaya frowns, exchanging a look with Poppy, who was silent...

"At the end of the conversation, one of you left the room..."

"That ah, did happen, yeah..."

"So, one of you may have been involved in the murder," Ishtar perks up now, "Which one of you was it?!"

"Guys, it's obvious what happened!" Tana speaks up loudly now, with a matter-of-fact tone, "The noose, being hung... Jon must've killed himself!"

"Huh? What makes you say that?" Lilliana questions with a tilt of her head.

"Well, duh! He hung himself over the library overlook! If none of us killed him, it's basically the only other option!" Tana cheers, "I solved the case! Jon has clearly killed himself!"

 _ **"Try thinking a little harder."**_

...

Lucas stood cross-armed, eyes shut, shaking his head, "You're a fool for even considering that as an option. This entire case reeks of murder, not a suicide."

"What the hell did you just say?!" Tana blurts out, growling, "You're just some mindless pokemon battler, as if you'd be able to discern a murder from a suicide."

"I'm able to discern it much better than some social media brat, it seems."

"You take that back!"

"Unlikely. Let me prove to you how wrong you are."

* * *

 _REBUTTAL SHOWDOWN_

 _\- Monokuma File #1_

 _\- Noose_

 _\- Messed Up Books_

Lucas: The social media brat gets it wrong...

Lucas: What a surprise there.

Lucas: None of the evidence we've gathered proves this case is a suicide.

Lucas: If you want to stand down, I'd gladly allow it.

 _... CROSS SWORDS..._

 _... SUCCESS..._

Tana: The Monokuma File said the victim suffered rope burns, which means he was hung!

Tana: From the noose!

...

Lucas: The Monokuma File stated the rope burns were along the chin.

Lucas: Not the ever so fatal neck.

Lucas: You're going to have to do better than that if you actually want to convince anyone of this falsehood.

 _... CROSS SWORDS..._

 _... SUCCESS..._

Tana: Oh, I got something else up my sleeve!

Tana: There was also **no evidence of a struggle** at the crime scene!

 _Messed Up Books ===/_

Lucas: Incorrect.

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Lucas huffs out in annoyance, arms remaining crossed, "Did you not notice the fact that all the books were messed up near where the noose was? Tossed around, some were in the floor, not neatly organized."

"What if they were just like that before the murder?" Tana grins as if this gave her a leg up over Lucas.

"I can confirm that isn't the case," Rosalie speaks now, "I was in the library with Zachary day after day, those books were put away very neatly, they all were."

"Point proven," Lucas nods to Rosalie, "Are you gonna give up the suicide BS now?"

Tana grumbles, annoyed...

"Even if the books weren't messed up, what about what else the Monokuma File mentioned?" Ruby asks next, "About his head being caved in? That wouldn't work out if it were a suicide."

"You aren't wrong there..." Ishtar shakes her head, "Well, it may help to determine what caved in Jon's head."

"Then we should get right on that!" Glenn shouts out!

 _How Jon's head was caved in..._

 _I think I remember this..._

 _Let's see what everyone else thinks first..._

* * *

 _NON-STOP DEBATE_

 _\- Monokuma File #1_

 _\- Bloody Candlestick_

 _\- Bloodstain_

Ishtar: How did Jon get his head caved in...

Ishtar: Does anyone have any suggestions?

Salvador: What if **one of the books hit his head** while he was falling or when he landed?

Ishtar: That's a possibility... Any others?

Kanaya: Perhaps he **fell on his head?**

Ishtar: Hmm... The way he looked like he landed, that likely isn't a possibility.

Ishtar: Though there's the chance the murderer moved the body around...

Libby: Wait...

Libby: I-If his head c-c-caving in k-killed him...

Libby: I-Is there a-a-a chance... **J-J-Jon was never u-u-up in the l-library o-overlook...?**

 _Bloodstain_ === **D**

Lilliana: No chance!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

"Up in the overlook, there was a bloodstain on the floor, some of it was even on the wall."

"T-T-There was...?" Libby asks with a slight, shaky tilt of her head.

"Yeah, there was!" Lilliana confirms.

"And since the remainder of us have no current injuries that leak blood..." Zachary pauses...

"That concludes that Jon was definitely up in the overlook at some point!" Ishtar shouts for the remainder, looking to Lilliana and grinning, "You're doing good Lilliana, surprisingly... I may have to train you some, shape you into a true officer of the law!"

"So she can sit in a car all day and arrest marijuana-users?" Ruby retaliates, rolling her eyes, "I think she's just fine sticking to being the ultimate musician."

"Not to mention," Archimedes speaks up next, "She's my apprentice! Keep those paws of yours off of her!"

"S-S-So, J-Jon was f-f-for sure u-up there... T-T-Then w-w-what h-hit J-Jon in th-the head...?" Libby asks.

"I think I know exactly what..."

 _Caved Jon's head in... Bloodstains... Should be simple enough._

 **Bloody Candlestick**

 _That must be it!_

"Lucas and I found a candlestick in the closet of the library overlook," Lilliana reveals!

"Yes," Lucas nods in confirmation, "And a good deal of it was caked in blood."

Ishtar nods, "So we know that for sure. Jon was cracked over the head in the library overlook with the bloody candlestick!"

Poppy lets out a low gasp, "Quick, open up the case file, see if it's right!"

"... What?" Ishtar looks to Poppy, annoyed...

"I think I understand," Zachary interjects, "It sounded somewhat like a clue accusation, didn't it?"

Poppy nods, letting out a low chuckle, "Uh huh!"

Ishtar glares now, "This is no time for silly jokes, someone was murdered!"

"So, I'm having a little trouble with something right now..." Archimedes interrupts, "Maybe if I talk it out to the rest of you, then it may help me, or one of us understand."

"Sure, go ahead, if it helps out with the case," Lilliana replies with a low smile, "What's on your mind?"

"So, the candlestick incapacitated Jon. The Monokuma file reveals he had some rope burns on his chin and had many injuries that were similar to people who took a large fall... I'm trying to get a grip on how the rope came into play."

 _Hmm... That is an interesting idea..._

 _Let's see if we can find out exactly how the noose was used..._

* * *

 _NON-STOP DEBATE_

 _\- Noose_

 _\- Properties of Noose_

 _\- Bloodstain_

Ishtar: How the noose was used...

Ishtar: Right now it seems like the noose didn't play too big of a part...

Timaeus: There is the chance the noose **was only used to choke Jon out** **...**

Timaeus: That would explain the blood where his chin was hung.

Ruby: The killer could have **just rubbed the blood from the bloodstain on the noose** though.

Ruby: And used it as somewhat of a red herring.

Archimedes: You know what? I think I've got it now!

Archimedes: The noose was used, surely, and it goes hand and hand with the messed up books.

Archimedes: The noose likely just **hung Jon by his chin** **!** And he had the chance to squirm around and knock over the books!

 _Noose_ === **D**

Lilliana: I agree with that!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

"That sounds about right," Lilliana points out, "Otherwise, how would the struggle revealed with the messed up books have taken place?"

"That's what I said, yeah," Archimedes nods, wearing a grin while looking to the others, "So, we know the noose was definitely in play. Not to mention, with being hung by his chin, he surely had the chance to slip out and fall to the ground, inevitably dying upon landing."

"Wait..." Ishtar pauses the conversation for just a moment, "How can we be sure that Jon was awake when he was hung? A blunt object to the head, he'd be out for an hour or so, tops."

"So?" Tana asks, spewing annoyance, "He got knocked out, woke up the hour later being hung, reacted. Obviously."

"Except that time frame doesn't work," Lucas interjects, rolling his eyes, "The note put him in the library at 2:30, and the estimated time of death was around 2:50."

"Well then, the bitch is wrong, and he woke up earlier!"

"With an injury like that..." Timaeus is up to speak now, shaking his head, "It's doubtful he was up and struggling within 20 minutes. Hell, I'd even go as far as saying someone wouldn't wake up."

"His head was pretty awfully caved in..." Lilliana sighs.

"Fine! Then I know exactly what happened!" Tana shouts, a smug grin meeting her face, "And I can explain it right now~!"

 _Oh boy, here we go..._

* * *

 _NON-STOP DEBATE_

 _\- Properties of Noose_

 _-_ Stack _of 10 Heavy Books_

 _\- Bloody Candlestick_

Ishtar: Well, if you have an idea...

Ishtar: Spew it out already!

Tana: I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it!

Lucas: Perhaps she was **just full of it...**

Tana: I need quiet, don't I?!

Tana: It has to be **a much bigger mon** who committed the crime!

Tana: Somemon like **Ishtar** or **Timaeus!**

Ishtar: And why exactly do you say that?

Timaeus: It's not because we disagree with you, is it?

Tana: Firstly, Ishtar's **been leading this trial!** She can push it in any direction she wants!

Tana: But more importantly...

Tana: How would a smaller mon like us hold Jon up in the noose?

Tana: There was no way any of us could've held onto him, he weighs like 50 something pounds!

Tana: And there **was nothing at the overlook that could've held the rope down!**

 _Stack of 10 Heavy Books_ === **D**

Lilliana: That can't be right!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Tana glares harshly toward Lilliana, "Oh really? How exactly am I wrong?"

Lilliana just stares back at Tana, "Up in the overlook, there was a stack of ten large books, thick and heavy. Altogether they weighed almost double Jon's weight, definitely enough to keep Jon and the noose held down without slipping.

The Shinx's eyes shoot wide, "Wait, really?!"

"Yeah," Lilliana gives a firm nod, "If anything, that confirms that bigger mons had nothing to do with it. They easily could've held onto the rope and done just the same."

"But wait, no, what about pawprints?! Could've done it to avoid being caught that way!" Tana replies, smug grin returning to her face, any sort of shock wiped away.

"Does it look like any of us have the capability of paw-printing right now?" Ishtar huffs, "Even if we had the technology to, we don't have everyone's paw prints readily on file. The killer would've known it was no risk to take."

Tana's mouth shoots open, about to retort-

"Pipe down Tana," Timaeus speaks up, his arms crossed, "At this rate, we have no reason not to suspect you."

"What?!" Tana gasps out, "No, I didn't do it!"

"You possibly did," Aster comments, "The evidence is clearly pointing toward you."

"Not really the evidence, Aster," Timeaus interrupts, "Just how she's been acting... Way too defensively," The Hydreigon quickly looks toward Lilliana, "Not to mention what I saw at the motive meeting, right Lilliana?"

 _What Timaeus saw..._

 **Timaeus' Account**

 _That's right!_

"Yeah, Timaeus came to me and told me that after the motive was revealed, he saw you darting looks around everyone else, eyeing everyone up before you left."

"It couldn't have been me!" Tana shouts out loudly!

"How not?!" Ishtar barks back!

"My sleepover! I was asleep with the girls!"

"There's no way to back that up, though," Timaeus replies, "You easily could've snuck out."

"Not really," Kanaya disproves with a calm voice, attention quickly shifting to her, "Lilliana did reveal that Poppy and I had a conversation around 2:30 am, did she not? Not to mention she'd have to lift Jon over the railing to get him to hang, which is even more preposterous of a thought. She doesn't weigh half of what Jon does, and clearly doesn't sport the strength to lift something twice her weight."

"Yeah," Tana nods in confirmation, grinning, "I'm a bit more of a beauty girl~."

"So," Kanaya continues, "I doubt she was involved."

"Well then, I guess we'll simply have to move onto the next topic. We've got the noose situated," Ishtar announces, "So, does anyone have any ideas on what should be-"

A soft giggle is heard throughout the trial room...

Everyone freezes as the giggle slowly grows, all others turning heads and looking toward the source...

There stood Libby, continuing the soft giggles that had interrupted the rest.

"Libby...?" Lilliana looks to the Sylveon in some concern, "Are you alright...?"

The giggling slows to a stop, "Oh, trust me, I'm just fine~" Her voice sounded much more confident than usual, void of any stutters. A lot clearer and... Slightly more seductive. "I was just starting to get bored of all this spewing out nonsense."

"Nonsense...?" Lilliana utters, "This isn't nonsense Libby, someone died..."

"Oh trust me," Libby's lips form a low grin, "I know that ever so well~." The Sylveon takes a small pause, "Anyways, allow me to lead us back on the same page after Tana's derailment. You're all not done with the noose, no no no~ There's a crucial detail you're all overshadowing~."

 _Overshadowing... I..._

 _I don't think we mentioned..._

 **Properties of Noose**

 _That's it!_

"The properties of the noose, right?"

"There we go Lilliana, you've got it~" She huffs out a little cockily, looking back around to the others, "Wow, quiet all of a sudden?"

"Simply taking in the new events..." Zachary mumbles, looking to the others, "It's rather surprising when the shyest of us all suddenly becomes this fragrant personality."

"Oh trust me, that's not gone long~ I'm a much different girl when I'm... Playing a game~."

"This isn't some game!" Ishtar shouts, "Now cut the bullshit, what about the properties of the noose did you bring up?!"

"Go on, Lills~" Libby's smug grin turns back toward Lilliana, "Continue~."

"Alright..." Lilliana nods slowly, taking in a deep breath, "The noose felt wet. Not drenched in water but... Moist wet. It was also covered in a bunch of pink sparkles."

"Oh, heheh~" Libby lets out a short giggle, "My fairy dust~."

"You were at the scene?!" Ishtar roars out, "So it was you!"

"Oh no no, I didn't kill Jon, I can guarantee that much. You're ignoring the other crucial detail. See... Sylveon's don't produce water. Do they?"

"Not that I'm aware of..." Ruby mutters.

"Right right~ So... Someone who does produce water was at the scene of the crime, weren't they?"

"What are you getting it?" Timaeus asks with a low, gruff tone, "This isn't some game, stop being vague."

"Coming from the prankster~ Interesting~" Libby nods slowly, "I'm simply getting at the fact that there are only two mons who can produce some water to have made the rope wet."

 _That's right..._

 _But... Who...?_

 **Poppy - Water Type**

 **Aster - Ice Type**

 _Right!_

"You're talking about P-"

"Poppy and Aster, yes indeed~ I applaud you for your wits~" Two of Libby's ribbons clap together some~

 _Poppy and Aster..._

 _The water on the noose... Places one of them at the scene as well..._

 _But it can only be one..._

* * *

 _NON-STOP DEBATE_

 _\- Properties of Noose_

 _\- Bloody Candlestick_

 _\- Noose_

 _\- Water Plaque_

Libby: So then...

Libby: Poppy, Aster, which of the two of you was it~?

Poppy: I-It wasn't me!

Libby: Hahahahahahahahah~

Libby: **The mute of the trial** finally raises their voice~

Aster: Libby is most certainly deranged, she has to be the blackened!

Aster: **We must detain her immediately!** Prince's orders!

Libby: Oh no no no, we've still got a good hour left in us, now don't we~?

Poppy: This is all stupid!

Poppy: Neither of us were there!

Libby: Oh~? Why do you say that~?

Poppy: You could've just **dumped water on the rope** to make it feel wet!

 _Water Plaque_ === **D**

Lilliana: That's incorrect!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

"Do any of you remember the water plaque's by our bathrooms?"

"Water plaque?" Poppy's eyes widen.

"Now that you mention it, the sight of something near my bathroom mentioning water being turned off is something I am vaguely reminded of..." Aster answers in a low voice, "However, I wasn't quite sure what it meant."

"Basically," Lilliana starts, "The water in the building is off during night time. If she had dumped the water before night time, the rope surely would've been somewhat dry by now, but it was pretty wet still."

"She must've poured water in a bucket before night time! Then dumped it over the rope!" Poppy complains, "There's no other way!"

"Then the floor of the library and some of the books would've been wet," Lucas raises his voice now, "Yet everything was dry for the most part. Even Jon's body didn't seem wet."

"She used a tow-"

"Poppy..." Kanaya is speaking now, looking rather upset, "If you were there, you can tell us..."

"I wasn't!"

"On the contrary," Zachary suddenly raises his voice, pulling a book out of his tuft of neck fur and showing it off to everyone, "This book is filled with detailed descriptions on elemental properties. One of these chapters highlighting the properties of a water types water has a section that reads 'The touch of many water types may cause some objects to become wet, as the skin of a majority of water types are coated in a thin layer of water. Some of the known objects to gain wetness simply from being touched by a water type may include; towels, fabrics, and rope,' and from what I can tell, that seems to be the most likely scenario. This was one of the many books I was skimming through in looking for answers."

"B-But what about Aster?!" Poppy shouts again, "I had nothing to do with killing Jon!"

"I did read the ice type chapter at the time of reading this book as well, and I remember something in regards to how an ice types ice can take up to 24 hours to melt into complete water, unless heat is applied to it," Zachary pauses for a moment, "Even if he applied heat, the melted ice still would have dripped onto the floor of the library."

"So, if you're telling this correctly, the fact that the rope was wet, but the floor was not is similar to a pawprint for water types?" Ishtar asks now.

"Correct," Zachary nods, directing his attention back to Poppy, "So this book and the wet rope prove without a shadow of a doubt that Poppy was at one point holding the rope."

"But I wasn't!" Poppy yells again, pretty loud now, "I was never at the scene of the crime!"

"Heheheheh, that's right Poppy, defend yourself~" Libby wears a maniacal grin as she looks over the Brionne.

"Shut it! You're the killer!"

 _Poppy's starting to get really angry..._

 _... Maybe defensive?_

 _She had to at least have been involved... The evidence leads toward it..._

 _But if she keeps getting louder, she may lead case off track..._

* * *

 _ARGUMENT ARRANGEMENT_

 _\- Water Plaque_

 _\- Kanaya & Poppy's Conversation_

 _Properties of Noose_

Poppy: I had nothing to do with Jon dying!

Poppy: How even could I have done anything?!

Poppy: Look at how small I am!

Poppy: I never would've been able to lift him over the railing of the overlook!

/

Poppy: Not to mention stacking the books would've been hard...

Poppy: Considering they're so much taller than I am!

Poppy: You all are wrong!

Poppy: Libby is clearly the blackened!

Poppy: Libby killed Jon!

/

Libby: Hahahah, that's fu-

Poppy: Shut up, killer!

Poppy: I'm trying to prove my innocence!

Poppy: Thanks to your lies!

Poppy: Not to mention...

Poppy: Why would I have even been at the library so late?!

Poppy: You know I was at Tana's Sleepover, Lilliana!

/

Ishtar: Don't forget the conversation you and Kanaya had!

Ishtar: Where one of you left after!

Poppy: That wasn't me though! I had nothing to do with it!

Poppy: Kanaya left, she went to grab something from her bedroom!

Poppy: I never left the room!

/

Poppy: **YOU CAN'T PROVE I EVER HAD ANY REASON TO GO TO THE LIBRARY LAST NIGHT!**

 _Misc. Note 3_ === **D**

Kanaya: No... That's wrong...

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Poppy's face contorts into shock, directing her attention toward Kanaya, who lifts up a small, folded up paper, "Sorry Poppy, but... This is probably best for everyone... I don't want you to be the killer but, the evidence... Is hard to ignore..."

"Kanaya..." Poppy shakes her head slowly.

Kanaya unfolds the note, giving a few small coughs, before reading it aloud in a shaky voice, " _'Dearest Poppy, I request that you meet me in the library for a rather important conversation. I trust you the most and need to share information with you. It would be a late meet up to assure no one overhears what they don't need to hear. 2:45am, be there, please. Sincerely, ~Z'_ "

"Aww, so the little water type did have a reason to show up to the library~" Libby releases a maniacal chuckle.

"Five minutes before the reported death... I still don't see how Poppy could have killed Jon in that time, even if Libby had set everything up," Timaeus speaks up, crossing his arms, "It's hard to picture it."

"We know both were at the scene of the crime, that is clear as day," Zachary comments, pausing a moment, "And we know both were touching the ropes at some point."

"Libby thinks we're playing a game..." Lucas starts speaking up now, "And for someone who surely seems so intent on playing, she comes off as the type who plays a game to win."

"Your point?" Tana scoffs in annoyance.

"It's weird that she'd just outright bring up a clue that pointed directly to her if she were playing to win, seeing as the blackened only 'wins' if everyone gets it wrong."

"Do you seriously think Libby might not be the killer?!" Ruby spouts out, "Come on, that's bull!"

"It works though. If she were the blackened trying to win, she would've happily accepted us moving away from the noose. But she made a point out of stepping in and pulling us back on track."

"You're smarter than you look, Lucas~" Libby giggles slightly, "Ya gotta be~."

"This shits garbage!" Salvador starts ranting now, "We know who the killer is! Let's just vote for Libby and get this over with!"

"I don't know if we'll come to an agreement at this rate," Kanaya frowns, looking to Lilliana and speaking directly to her, as others continue arguing in the background, "It's like we're split... Right down the middle."

 **"HOOOOLD ON!"**

Monokuma's booming voice rings through the trial room, shutting down anyone talking at that point. Eyes quickly shoot toward him in surprise!

 **"I HEARD SOMEBODY SAY... SPLIT!"**

 **"THAT'S RIGHT I DID, COMING STRAIGHT FROM THE ULTIMATE BABYSITTERS DIRECTION!"**

"Ultimate Child Caregiver..." Kanaya corrects.

 **"SAME THING!"**

 **"THE GROUP IS SPLIT, AND THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO GET A NICE, DECISIVE ANSWER!"**

"If it be a duel, count me out," Aster proclaims, "I've still yet to be trained in self-defense."

 **"TO ASCEND INTO CONCLUSION, YOU MUST FIRST DESCEND INTO THE DARKNESS!"**

 **"PRINCIPAL MONOKUMA OF HOPE'S PEAK ACADEMY IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE NEWEST, AND YET TO BE TESTED, MEANS OF FINDING A SOLUTION!"**

 **"PREPARE FOR..."**

 **"... THE DEBATE SCRUM!"**

 _Oh no... Another trick up Monokuma's sleeve..._

 _Hopefully, he's right at least... That we can come to a group conclusion on the case..._

 _Only one way to find out..._

* * *

DEBATE SCRUM

Monokuma rises up from the throne he'd been sitting on. He turns, back toward us, and runs up the back end of the chair, pushing into a backflip, sending him soaring.

He lands in the center of us fifteen and reaches for a lever sticking out of the side. Once he pulls the lever, the circular floor separating us all folds down against the walls of something below. Looking in revealed a dark pit... The bottom couldn't yet be seen...

Monokuma let go of the lever, falling into this dark pit. The silence didn't last long before the small fence-like walls in front of us shot down, and the floors we stood on all curved upward.

Those of us without wings slid down and fell into the dark pit, one by one. Those with wings followed behind, though I was the last to manage to fall in. I store up at the ceiling of the class trial room, watching as it got smaller and smaller...

It's not a few seconds later before I've suddenly landed, on my feet no less. I look around, seeing the dark, rectangular room. We were back in stations once more, eight on each side of the room.

 ** _WHO'S THE BLACKENED?_**

 _LIBBY'S THE BLACKENED - POPPY'S THE BLACKENED_

 _Poppy - Lilliana [Purposefully]_

 _Aster - Libby [Psycho]_

 _Glenn - Archimedes [Word]_

 _Salvador - Ishtar [Evidence]_

 _Timaeus - Zachary [Water]_

 _Ruby - Rosalie [Bucket]_

 _Tana - Kanaya [Told]_

 **Jon's Picture** \- _Lucas [Strong]_

 ** _!DEBATE SCRUM START!_**

Timaeus: The evidence is pointing us to Libby! Poppy wouldn't have been in the library long enough!

Ishtar: The **evidence** is pointing towards both of them holding onto the rope at some point! Poppy must've been there long enough to hold onto the rope!

Tana: Let's not forget there's still a chance Libby just dumped water over the rope!

Zachary: Trying to lead us astray again? The **water** being dumped on the rope makes no sense, not only in terms of everything else being dry but also in terms of how the water was turned off at the time.

Ruby: Okay, then she just dunked the rope in a bucket of water right before the murder!

Rosalie: There was no sign of a **bucket** at the scene of the crime, or anywhere near it! Why claim something was involved when there's no proof it was?

Salvador: What about this, Einstein? What if Poppy didn't even bother to go to the library in the first place? She never told anyone!

Kanaya: You've already forgotten we had a conversation... Poppy **told** me around 2:30 that she was leaving for the library... If anything she had enough time to get there early.

Glenn: Poppy would've had to dump Jon over the railing of the overlook, there's no way she was strong enough to do that!

Lucas: While true, she really isn't too **strong,** we don't know if Jon had already been tossed over and the noose had held him in long enough.

Poppy: I-I can't believe you guys still think that I was involved! Libby is clearly a psycho, she killed Jon!

Libby: I guess what we're all thinking here is... May I have been **psycho** enough to set up a murder and have someone else act on it~?

Aster: As so I proclaim, Libby is clearly the murderer! It's royalty's word against thine own!

Archimedes: Royalty's **word** has gotta be wrong then! As the ultimate conspiracist, I see clearly how Poppy is the blackened!

Poppy: But... I couldn't have killed Jon... Not purposefully... I'm not that kind of pokemon...

Lilliana: Not **purposefully** is right... I know how you killed Jon, Poppy.

 **CROUCH**

 **BIND**

 **SET!**

/

Lilliana: This is our answer!

Libby: This is our answer!

Archimedes: This is our answer!

Ishtar: This is our answer!

Zachary: This is our answer!

Rosalie: This is our answer!

Kanaya: This is our answer!

Lucas: This is our answer!

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Back up in the trial room, everything was set back to normal. Lilliana looked over the others, "I have an idea of what went down in there."

"Do you now?" Ishtar questions, tilting her head, "Then tell us what you think. Because I feel like I have a decent enough idea of how the murder took place as well..."

Poppy was shaking, quiet...

Lilliana nods slowly, "Alright then."

 _How the case went down..._

 _... I know this..._

* * *

CLOSING ARGUMENT

...

Lilliana: This is what led to Jon's death!

 _It all started with three notes, one to Jon, one to Libby, and one to our killer._

 _The signatures read Z, for Zachary, but we all know by now that the letters were clearly forged._

 _My guess? By Libby._

Libby: Direct hit!

 _She wrote them while she was alone the entire day leading up to Jon's death._

 _She managed at some point during night time, when no one was outside, to slip Jon and the blackened their notes, and all she had to do was keep her's in her room._

 _Libby went to the library at an unknown time, all we know was that it was enough time to set up the noose, the books, and find the candlestick for the murder. In setting up the noose, some of her fairy dust clung to the rope, which led at least a portion of the murder to her._

 _When Jon eventually entered the library at 2:30am, he went up to the overlook. I don't think the noose was hung over the railing at this time since Jon would've seen it as a red flag and bailed._

 _When he got up the staircase... That's when Libby struck, and his fate was sealed._

 _She managed to catch him off guard, slamming a golden candlestick against his skull, causing a partial cave-in. His blood splattered onto the wall and floor of the overlook._

 _How he survived this? I'm not sure. I am sure that this knocked him out, giving Libby enough time to get the noose around his chin, fastened tightly, and send him over, the many books holding him up._

 _Libby had about 10 to 15 minutes to do this before the blackened would arrive, so Libby had to have acted quick and likely didn't have the proper amount of time to leave._

 _When the blackened did arrive, they bore witness to the gruesome scene of Jon hung by his chin, unconscious._

 _The blackened scampered up the stairs in a panic, grabbing on the noose and trying to pull him up. At some point during this commotion, Jon must've woken up, and started to struggle._

 _The blackened's scrambled failings to pull him up, along with Jon struggling, probably weakly due to his injury, causing books to fall over. It was inevitable that Jon would slip out of the noose, and fall, hitting the ground, likely what ended his life._

 _Therefore, since the blackened trying actively to help pull Jon up was a large part in how Jon left us... That's how I see the blackened being considered responsible for this murder, even if Libby did most of the work._

 _Am I right in this case..._

 _... Poppy, the ultimate shipper?_

 _ **BREAK**_

* * *

Poppy continues shaking and shivering, looking around as the others start eyeing her down...

"Poppy? Is that how it went down?" Kanaya asks slowly, lips forming a frown.

With a little sniff, Poppy looks down, nodding, "Yes... That's... That's what happened..."

"Heheheheheheh~" Libby's giggling draws the attention back toward herself, "Well then, since we know who did it, and how, we should get to the vote, should we not, Monokuma?"

"You sick, cruel bitch..." Ishtar glares daggers in Libby's direction, "You will still be held fully responsible for your actions!"

"But not executed, at least~" Libby comments, releasing one last giggle~

 **"PUHUHU"**

 **"LOOKS LIKE THE GROUP HAS REACHED A VERDICT, HAVEN'T THEY?"**

 **"ALRIGHTY THEN! IT'S TIME TO VOTE!"**

 **"YOU ALL HAVE A LEVER IN FRONT OF YOU! USE IT TO MAKE YOUR SELECTION!"**

 **"OH AND, JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE..."**

 **"MAKE TRIPLE SURE YOU VOTE FOR SOMEONE! YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO BE PUNISHED FOR SOMETHING SO MINOR, WOULD YOU?"**

 **"NOW THEN..."**

 **"WHO WILL BE CHOSEN AS THE BLACKENED?"**

 **"WILL YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE?"**

 **"... OR THE DREADFULLY WRONG ONE?"**

* * *

MONOKUMA VOTE

 _ISHTAR_

 _ZACHARY_

 _ASTER_

 _LIBBY_

 _TANA_

 _RUBY_

 _ROSALIE_

 _LUCAS_

 _SALVADOR_

 _TIMAEUS_

 _JON - DECEASED_

 _ARCHIMEDES_

 _KANAYA_

 _..._

 _LILLIANA_

 _..._

 _GLENN_

 _..._

 ** _POPPY IS GUILTY!_**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 01 - COURT RESULT**

 _COMMENTS: MESSY. YOU MONS SEEMED TO BE EVERYWHERE BUT ON THE MARK. IF IT WASN'T FOR LIBBY YOU LIKELY WOULD'VE DIED. A LITTLE SHORTER THAN I WOULD'VE ENJOYED SEEING, WATCHING YOU ALL SQUIRM. JUST BARELY PASSING._

 **FINAL RESULTS - _C-_**

* * *

 **"PUHUHU! AND THERE WE HAVE IT!"**

 **"THE BLACKENED WHO KILLED JON DAPHER IS NONE OTHER THAN..."**

 **"POPPY ROBINSON!"**

Poppy is near silent... Her eyes remain wide in shock, shaking her head, looking down...

 **"CONGRATULATIONS ON FINDING YOUR FIRST BLACKENED! SUCH AN ACHIEVEMENT~."**

"Shut it, bear!" Ishtar spews out.

 **"YOU ALL CAN LEAVE YOUR STANDS! FEEL FREE TO WALK AROUND AND ENJOY LIFE!"**

 **"ESPECIALLY YOU POPPY, SINCE YOU WON'T HAVE THAT MUCH LONGER TO ENJOY IT~! PUHUHU!"**

Tears start to trail from the Brionne's eyes... As soon as Kanaya's given word that she can leave, the Gardevoir pushes back and walks right over to Poppy.

Kanaya drops to her knees, frowning, pulling her close, "Shh shh shh... Everythings going to be alright, Poppy..." Kanaya starts trying to calm her...

Meanwhile, a small giggle is what draws Lilliana's attention, watching Libby walking over, two of her ribbons slapping together in clapping, "Oh my, good performance Lilliana~ There were a few faults, but, with the others around... It's no surprise that happened~."

It doesn't take half a second before Ishtar's large frame barrels over and pushes Libby off to the side. Libby gasps, catching her footing and turning to stare at the fuming Arcanine... Ishtar's fangs were poking out... "How the hell could you do such a damn thing?! Set up a whole murder just to get someone else to do it so that the murderer trapping us all has to murder them?!"

Libby's slight shock at being pushed is almost immediately replaced with a cheeky grin, "Well, Ishtar, I felt like it~ Trust me, as much as I'd like to be my very appealing shy self, sometimes the fun-lovers gotta come out and play~ And this was just the idea I had to spice some things up around here~ I mean, _three days_ with _nothing_ going on was starting to get boring!"

"You'll pay for what you did!" Ishtar shouts, "Justice will be served!"

Lilliana chooses to stop paying attention to the argument between the heated cop and the mastermind behind the murder of Jon. She directs her attention back to Kanaya and Poppy instead...

She walks up to the two, crouching down beside Poppy, on the side opposite Kanaya. Poppy was at that moment hugging Kanaya, though when a paw reached and started to rub at her back, Poppy's head slowly turned and looked to Lilliana.

"You'll be in a much better place than us, Poppy. Don't be scared..."

Poppy sniffles, giving a small nod, "K-Kanaya... L-Lilliana... P-P-Please... Promise me... Y-You'll get everyone e-else out of here..."

Lilliana nods, "We will, Poppy. You have my word."

"Our word..." Kanaya corrects, "You have our word..."

Poppy gives an upset little smile, slowly pulling away from Kanaya... As she turned, she saw Tana standing in her path...

The Shinx then proceeded to spit on Poppy, saliva splashing against her cheek, "I will not align myself with a murderer like yourself. I hope you rot in hell."

Without another word, Tana turns and walks off...

Poppy, Kanaya, and Lilliana all remained there with eyes wide at the events that had transpired before them... Poppy was starting to tear up again, though before she could be pulled in for another hug...

 **"I'M GETTIN' WAY TOO BORED OVER HERE! SO I SAY LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO THE PUNISHMENT!"**

"P-Punishment?" Poppy asks shakily...

 **"DOES THE LITTLE TWIT NOT REMEMBER WHAT I SAID BEFORE? IF THE BLACKENED GETS CAUGHT..."**

 **"THEY'LL RECEIVE PUNISHMENT! OF THE FATAL DEGREE!"**

"N-No... No, p-please no..." Poppy whimpers now, shaking her head, starting to back up.

 **"YES, PLEASE YES! SINCE YOU COMMITTED MURDER..."**

 **"SOCIETY DEMANDS YOU BE PUNISHED ACCORDINGLY!"**

"I-I-I don't w-w-wanna die! P-Please, I-I don't wanna die!"

 **"NOW THEN, I'VE PREPARED A VERY SPECIAL PUNISHMENT FOR POPPY ROBINSON, THE ULTIMATE SHIPPER!"**

"C-Can't we work out some s-sort of a deal?!"

 **"LET'S GIVE IT EVERYTHING WE'VE GOT!"**

 **"IT'S..."**

 **" _PUNISHMENT TIME!_ "**

* * *

 **GAME OVER**

 **POPPY ROBINSON HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.**

 **TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!**

Poppy stands to the side of the trial stands...

Her remaining classmates stand near and around, all eyes on her...

She's looking around in a dazed panic, before the sharp clang of metal clangs around her throat! With a gasp, she reaches her flippers up and feels the rusty metal collar around her...

She turns her head and looks back, seeing a long chain of rusted metal, leading between two bookshelves... Which pushed open, revealing a hidden passageway...

The chain springs up, and she's very suddenly yanked backward! She's pulled and dragged past the new opening, down a long, long corridor, struggling with her flippers to try and push off...

The dragging comes to a stop, and she watches as a thick pane of glass rises up in front of her, blocking the corridor she was just dragged down... As she turns around to get another look behind her, she sees a separate glass pane... And a lot of water...

When the pane in front of her clicks shut, the pane of glass with all the water slowly drags down, filling up the room with water... Being a water type, Poppy manages fine...

Until the chain yanks her out into the open waters and starts to rapidly drag her upward...

The chain soon pulls her up to surface, and she sees it's connected to a small speedboat, with two monokuma's at the front. The one riding passenger looks pink, feminine.

The two Monokuma's look back at Poppy with a grin, meeting each other with locked lips...

Poppy looks at the back of the speedboat, reading its name...

 _'S.S. Ultimate Shipper's Punishment'_

Looking past the motorboat, a gigantic cruise liner is ahead, with its giant rudder spinning miles and miles per hour! Poppy looked around and saw virtually no land anywhere near... This was practically the middle of the damn ocean!

The male monokuma at the speedboat pushed down the pedal to accelerate, dragging Poppy along by the chain, heading straight for the cruise liner!

Poppy shakes her head, using her flippers desperately to try and yank the metal collar off of her neck, but to no avail!

The speedboat continues gaining more and more speed, the water getting choppier the closer they get to the ship's rudder...

Last minute, the male monokuma drops a brick on the acceleration, and the couple leaps off the boat into the water. This continued to send Poppy and the speedboat closer and closer to the cruise liner...

The boat pushes into the rudder and explodes, and the massive cruise rudder ends up slicing at Poppy...

First came slicing off Poppy's tail, then another slice at her gut, and finally at her neck, slicing her into multiple pieces, as the rudder is stained a grim pink...

* * *

Back at the trial room, the 14 students watch on a monitor the gruesome execution of Poppy...

Everyone is left speechless at the simple brutality of the punishment... Though Monokuma gives a hearty chuckle!

 **"PUHUHU!"**

 **"THE BLACKENED IS NO MORE, AND ONLY 14 REMAIN!"**

 **"BUT... IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THAT NUMBER DROPS AGAIN!"**

The furiously shaking form of Ishtar turns to Monokuma, who stood at the back of the group, perched on one of the trial stands... "Why the fuck do you want this so badly?! These are lives you're playing with here!"

 **"PLAYING, YES, BECAUSE IT'S JUST A GAME!"**

 **"A GAME THAT KILLS YA IF YA LOSE!"**

"You're a cruel man..." Zachary mumbles, shaking his head.

 **"YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, IF YA DIE IN THE GAME, YA DIE IN REAL LIFE!"**

 **"ONLY... THIS IS REAL LIFE! PUHUHU!"**

 **"NOW, I TRUST YOU ALL KNOW THE EXIT, SAME AS THE ENTRANCE..."**

 **"SO SCRAM! GO, MURDER SOME MORE!"**

With that, Monokuma drops down in the center of the stands and pulls the lever, dropping down to where the debate scrum was located earlier...

Silence befalls the group once more... And slowly, everyone starts making their way to the elevators...

Before Lilliana enters the elevator though, she feels a tap right below her tail... She quickly turns and looks, blushing some, "G-Glenn, d-don't touch there, especially after what just happened..."

Glenn nods slowly, "Sorry... I just..." He sighs, "I wanted to thank you... For, getting us through that... Finding out what happened to Jon..." He looks to Libby with a small glare, "If it wasn't for you Lilliana... We wouldn't be here... No one else could've led us away from thinking it was Zachary..."

Lilliana takes in a deep breath, nodding back, "You're welcome... Now, we should get in that elevator with the others and... Head back upstairs..."

"Do you... Think another murder will happen...?"

Lilliana doesn't immediately respond, taking a pause of a few seconds... She turns and looks toward the others in the elevator, shutting her eyes... "I hope not, Glenn..."

"I hope not..."

* * *

 **CHAPTER 01 - A CRUEL MISTRESS**

 **COMPLETE!**

* * *

 **There you have it! Chapter 1 is officially complete!**

 **After putting the blackened to bed, there's one question everyone has on their minds!**

 **If...**

 **And When...**

 **Will the next murder take place?!**

 **We hope you guys enjoyed the episode! Review what you thought of it if you'd like!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	7. CH1 Bonus - Bonus Execution Unlocked

**DANGANPOKE**

 **BONUS CONTENT**

* * *

 ** _YOU HAVE UNLOCKED SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT FOR COMPLETING CHAPTER 1_**

 ** _UNLOCKED: ULTIMATE LUCKY STUDENT'S EXECUTION_**

Jon stands alone in the center of a large field.

He takes a few glances around, confused at the field of nothing more than grass and stones surrounding him. That is until small shops and homes start to spring up in the field, forming a square.

A huge crowd of Monokuma gather around, entering over the shops and through the thin allies that permeate between the buildings. Some of the smaller monokuma's gather stones and pile them up in the corners...

Jon whips around in time to see a large black box shoved in his face by one last monokuma. The box flicked open, and inside, there was a single slip of paper.

Jon reached into the box and pulled the slip of paper out, flipping it over. There was a thick black spot on the paper.

 _'The Lottery Winner'_

"It's Jon Dapher!" Hideously shouts the monokuma holding the box at the top of his lungs. Jon drops the paper, looking up to see the other monokumas all racing toward the pile of stones, most on the smaller, smoother side.

He barely even notices one rock racing toward him, slamming him in the side of the head. He clutched his head in pain, looking up as another few stones were tossed his way. Each stone hit their indicated target, whether it be hitting his chest, his arm, his leg, his head.

He dropped down to his knees in pain, palms against the ground...

He wearily looks up, seeing a huge monokuma stomp closer, holding a giant, rugged, sharp rock... He raised it high above his head...

Jon shut his eyes as the monokuma tossed the huge stone on Jon's head. It sent his head down into the grass below and a huge crunch could be heard...

What was left of Jon was on the ground, his bruised and battered body slumped over onto its side, with a rough, bloody rock in place of his head.

The volley of stones continued, further bruising and damaging Jon's corpse.

And then they were upon what remained of him.


	8. IM - A World Of Crime 1

**DANGANPOKE**

 **INTERMISSION 1**

 **A WORLD OF CRIME**

* * *

 _Memento Park_

 _The Heart of Orune University_

 _And the sight of a gruesome murder_

A Mighteyenna walks through the long, winding paths of the campus on a dark, windy night. Wearing a thick black coat and the strap of a camera around his neck, hanging down, he makes his way through campus until coming to the center of Memento Park.

Walking closer, he sees the devastating scene on the opposite side of 'Police - Do Not Cross' yellow tape. He huffs out of his nose, shaking his head as he walks closer.

A Beartic on the other side of the tape, wearing a blue police hat and a badge, sees the mon and walks over, stepping over the tape and shaking his head.

"Devin Yates, right?"

"That's Ultimate Detective Devin Yates to you, Ray," The Mighteyenna replies back, rolling his eyes, "Though using me more often the past few months, you should know that about me by now."

"We wouldn't need to call on you if it wasn't for Officer Ishtar's disappearance."

"And the rise in crime," Rolling his eyes, the mon walks over, ducking under the police tape. Once on the other side, the Beartic steps over and follows beside, "What's the situation?"

"An Ultimate was killed sometime earlier tonight, we're under the current assumption it wasn't longer than three hours ago."

"Cause of death?"

"Blood loss. The victim was shot at least three times, though we haven't been able to find any sort of firearm nearby."

"So you called me out here purely because of a firearm-related homicide? Damn you cops are losing your shit."

As Devin steps closer, Ray explains further, "No, that's not the only reason."

Devin pauses, turning back and looking to Ray, "Then what's the other reason?"

"Just see for yourself."

Devin lets out an annoyed sigh. He turns and steps closer, past the large crowd of officers.

The closer he steps to the center, the more evident the scent of blood becomes. Devin shakes it off, stepping past the remaining guards and coming across a site like no other, one he likely never expected to lay his eyes on.

In the center of Memento Park, on a circular pathway, lied a dead leafeon, though she was unlike any other. Her skin was slightly brighter, and her leaves were bright pink rather than the usual green. She also had a few pink flowers around her neck. She had three gunshot wounds, one to each of her hind legs, and one to the side of her head. Blood was crusted over the scars, though some still managed to leak out. No doubt the body was still semi-fresh.

What caught his attention wasn't the leafeon, though. Surrounding the leafeon and along the circular path, which divided into four separate areas of the college, was a large, cult-like circle of salt, bathed in blood red. At each independent pathway leading away was a large red crystal, branching off from the salt paths. The Leafeon's body was in the center of all of this.

The mon was easily recognizable. Her appearance is usually found on billboards or television commercials, as well as the big screen. This was Eliza Wellner, the Ultimate Actress.

An officer, a Grovyle, held a body bag and was walking over towards the body, wearing gloves, of course.

Devin took a few minutes to assess the situation, shaking his head, before stepping forward. He walked up to the Grovyle, "This is... This is a fucking mess."

"No kidding there," The Grovyle shook his head, "It's... It's fucking cruel. She was the victim of some sort of cult ritual. But here? In the middle of Memento Park?"

"Pokemon are fucking crazy like that, officer."

"Yeah..."

"Anyways," Devin starts, "What sort of DNA evidence have you been able to pick up?"

As Devin reaches for his camera and starts taking pictures of the scene, the Grovyle shrugs, "None from what I've heard. We couldn't get anything from those crystals or the jar of salt we found nearby."

"Peculiar, but not uncommon," Devin snaps a picture of the leafeon, "This cult wanted to cover all its bases. Make sure none of them would be caught. Even if one tiny bit of evidence were left revealed, it'd be their asses."

As Devin gets closer to the body, he notices something peculiar... The Grovyle watches confused as Devin lets go of his camera, falling until the slack of the straps was no more, causing it to dangle some side to side. He reached into his trench-coat and pulled out some gloves.

After putting the gloves on, he grabbed a Ziploc bag and small nose-pliers. Opening the bag up, he reaches onto the leafeon's body with the pliers, pulling up some hair. The color didn't match anything of the leafeon.

"Black," Devin states, "The victim has some black fur on her body. Something very uncharacteristic of a Leafeon, especially of this coloring."

"So, you think-"

"This has to be fur from one of the cult members. There's no doubt in my mind about that," He drops the fur into the Ziploc bag, sealing it shut, before returning his tools.

He takes a few additional minutes to examine the crime scene, such as the crystals and the salt but didn't find anything extra of note.

After upwards of ten minutes, he shakes his head, "Not much else to the case. Looks like I'm done he-"

Just as Devin was about to finish, a loud feminine gasp for air came from the center of memento park. His head turned quickly, ears picking up many gasps and surprised noises from the officers.

As the Leafeon in the middle was being set into the body bag, her body had sprung up to life. Sitting part on her back, she looks around quickly, in a panicked look. Her paws clutch at the bullet wound to her head, looking down to her hind legs... And she lets out a blood-curdling scream.

Devin is quick to rush over and slide beside her, a paw reaching and clutching at her head, "Shh shh shh, Eliza it's going to be alright... You're fine. Just let me ask you a few questions."

Though Eliza tried to push away from Devin, continuing to scream, "H-H-HELP! SOMEBODY H-H-H-HELP! I-I-I DON'T W-W-WANNA DIE! PL-PLEASE!"

Four Audino rush into aid, one pushing Devin off to the side as they lay her down and attempt to calm her. Assuring her everything is alright, two of them are sent off to bring the stretcher.

After being knocked away, Devin stood and watched as Eliza was taken away. Devin sighed.

Ray stomped over to Devin, wearing an annoyed and angered look on his face, "What the hell do you think you were doing? Trying to question someone who thought she was dead!"

"I do things my way, you do things your way. Is there anything truly wrong with that?"

"Yes, it damn well is! She needs treatment before you can question her, you have to make sure she's alright!"

"Heh," Devin rolled his eyes, turning away from Ray and starting to walk off, "Your way of doing things takes way too long. It's probably why I'm so much closer to figuring everything out than you fucks. All the disappearances."

"That's withholding information from the law Devin! That's a punishable offense!"

"Once I know everything I'll share what I've learned. Not like I'm going to be keeping it forever. Wouldn't wanna misdirect the tepig's of Orune, would we? Now, if you excuse me, this little interruption seems to have been more helpful to my case then originally meets the eye."

With that, Devin walks out. With his new photo's taken from the scene, he walks down the long, winding paths of the universities campus, back to his car, to drive back to his office.

"Fifteen mons reported missing, unknowing of their whereabouts or statuses, and a shit ton more of them reported dead, all ultimates," Devin pauses once in his car, shaking his head, "Whoever's done this, this sick, disgusting individual... Will be brought to justice."

"And seeing as we now have our first survivor of anything even remotely related to him... Whoever this black-furred mon is... And whatever cult he has following them... They..."

"... Are going to pay."


End file.
